Surprising Words

Surprising Words

Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. Acts 4:30

During an overnight shift in the ER, I was summoned to see a young boy who had fallen and hit his head.

“I heard that throwing up after hitting your head is a bad thing, so I brought him in,” his mother said.

Though it was 1:30 in the morning, the mother was fully dressed and completely made up. If she had time to get ready, how serious could it be? I wondered as I started my exam.

The boy’s pupils were equal and reactive. He was attentive and easily followed my directions. “Where did you hurt your head?” I asked. He pointed to the spot, and I felt it.

It was a normal neural exam. He was a normal kid who’d gotten a bump on the head. But as I turned to ask the nurse to give the mother a head injury instruction sheet, I heard myself say instead, “Well, his exam looks good, but I think we should send him to Vanderbilt to get a CT scan.”

I had no idea why I’d said that. The words just slipped out of my mouth. The nurse looked at me like I was a lunatic, and the mother seemed confused. Without knowing why, I sensed that something more was going on.

It was no small thing to find a neurosurgeon in the middle of the night. Moreover, the nurse had to order an ambulance to take the boy, and there was a ton of paperwork involved.

Though I had no objective data to back up my referral, I had a sense that something was happening that only God could explain.

Four hours later, the neurosurgeon phoned and surprised me with these words: “I’m glad you sent him over. I just got out of surgery. We evacuated a hematoma from his brain. If you hadn’t gotten him here in time, he would have died.”

I’m convinced that it was God who spoke the words to send that boy to Vanderbilt; he simply used my mouth to do it.

TODAY’S RX

When you hear a still, small voice, be open to it. You just might witness a miracle.

Father, I invite you to speak through me today, offering kindness and counsel to those around me who are in need. May my words be pleasing to you and a comfort those who are hurting.