All His Promises Are Yes and Amen

Crack! Not a sound you want to hear when someone falls. This past weekend was not my favorite. A near catastrophe hit close to home. My granddaughter, Calvary, who is just 4 years old fell and hit the back of her head... hard. Her mom (my daughter) and her dad rushed her to the ER. She was disoriented, dizzy and crying. Her lips began to turn blue. She would go to sleep and then wake up and vomit. ER doctors put her in a neck brace. Then they did a CT scan on her head and her neck. Meanwhile, I was reigning in my emotions. This little girl is quite a bright spot in my own life. My first grandchild, Gunnar, spent much of his younger years with my wife helping my other daughter, Kimberly, raise him. He is currently 7 years old. But because of his early years spending so much time with my wife, he naturally has a special place in his heart for her. In a similar situation, due to Calvary's mom, Kayla, owning a dance studio, my wife helping with it, and her daddy, John, going to night school, I had the privilege of babysitting her on many evenings. I think because of this, she naturally has a special place in her heart for me. She is always glad to see me, hugs my neck and says, "Poppy, you want to go play?"

Having raised 3 daughters, her little personality reminds me a bit of each of my own. She can be quite determined like Kimberly (my oldest), very artistic and sweet like Karahann (my middle), and very comical/imaginative like her mother, my youngest, Kayla. I honestly can see all 3 of them in her. Raising my 3 and going through their bumps and bruises was, at times, very difficult. But having to go through it with little Calvary seemed very different. I can't explain what it is, but I guess it has to do with my age, maturity and the fact that she's a grandchild. As a parent, you are learning as you go and so much of the time you are worn out, physically. As a grandparent, the physical tiredness is missing and there are just some things you already know how to handle but you watch from the sidelines as your own children struggle with learning to be parents. Many times I know what to do to help, but I keep my mouth shut. I've never wanted to be a know-it-all. Yet I yearn to help.

But now, my granddaughter was suffering along with my wife, whose heart is so tender it breaks when she hears of anyone suffering. Calvary's parents were also having to see their little one suffer an injury that, possibly, could be life-threatening. They were dealing with feelings of guilt as all parents do when their children get hurt. Could I have done something different? In fact, I still have to deal with that same feeling even with grown children wondering if I could've been a better parent and saved them from some of the pain.

So with my wife, Calvary, John & Kayla all in the ER, I sat in Kayla's van with my 2nd grandson, Calvary's little brother, Ezekiel, while he slept, oblivious to the drama unfolding around his little life. I was trying to reign in my emotions and fear for Calvary's well-being. Just a few minutes ago, I had left that Sunday's church service at Christ Fellowship having listened to my oldest daughter sing on the praise team. I was actually singing "All His Promises are Yes and Amen" when my wife got the phone call from Kayla informing us of their sudden unexpected trip to the ER. Having dealt with tons of calls like this in the recent past, due to a series of traumatic events that happened in our lives, this call reinforced my wife's fears of phone calls. She had endured so much with the loss of her mom and her dad just a few years ago. Watching her suffer this call brought up all those horrible fears and dread once again both for me and for her.

We rushed to ER where I had let my wife out, parked my car, and got in Kayla's car to watch Ezekiel. While attempting to reign in my emotions, that song came up in my heart, "All Your Promises are Yes and Amen." And then I saw in my mind's eye the times angels appeared to men in the Bible and the first words out of their mouths were always, "Fear not." Then I heard, "Perfect love casts out fear, for fear has torment." Torment. Yes, I was currently familiar with torment. Then, just as quickly, I saw Jesus say to Satan, "Get behind Me!" and I suddenly realized just what an act of violence and intolerance that was. Wiping tears from my eyes, I pointed my finger forward, sitting there in that van, and I said out loud, "Get behind me, Satan. You are blocking my view of God. I'm going forward where there is no fear. And if you are in front of me I'm going to walk on top of you and crush your head. So... get behind me! What God will do for one, He'll do for another. He promised I could do Jesus' works. He promised I can ask what I will in Jesus' Name and He would do it for me. He promised that all Calvary's pains and diseases were healed by the stripes laid on Jesus' back. So... get behind me!" I then downloaded that song to my phone and began to sing. The peace of God entered my soul very unexpectedly. I then said, "Calvary's brain is healed. She will live and not die. She will lead a normal life. And from this point on, she will begin to amend. It will be an amazing recovery." Then I smiled at Jesus as I remembered a line from a very recent sermon given at our church by Jamie Winship, "Jesus will come right into the middle of your fear, every time. Even if the doors are locked!"

I continued to sing.

Calvary Recovering

In the ER, the report was no neck injury, no brain bleed but a hairline fracture of her skull. She woke up again and vomited. In the van, Ezekiel woke up. My wife came to the van and comforted him. We took him home and I headed back to the ER. I found Kayla on the bed with Calvary, who was sleeping and John watching on and a friend of ours, Kathy (who is also a nurse), there with them. Calvary woke and said her head hurt. They admitted her to watch her overnight. We moved to a hospital room. She woke again and vomited. But she acted like herself. A great sign. I stayed with them until late. Calvary's vitals became normal. She stopped throwing up. She talked to the nurse and all of us like she normally would, surprising us all with her little witticisms and light-hearted personality. She was healing nicely with no further symptoms or complications.

The next day will be a day in the history of Greg Kiser marked and remembered by Jesus Himself, as a day when I was probably the most thankful man who had ever lived on planet earth. John and Kayla's little family returned home with Calvary toting new toys obtained along the way. I had a new perspective; I personally know what Jesus meant when He said, "Get behind me, Satan." All His promises are "Yes" and "Amen."

Jesus had healed Calvary.