by Bob Russell, ©2023
(Jun. 25, 2023) — I just saw a movie that gave me a great deal of inspiration to deal with my current health situation. I am partially paralyzed from a severe stroke I suffered on August 19, 2014. The neurologist told me at my first office visit six months later that the stroke should have been instantly fatal, that it was a major miracle that I survived long enough to get to the hospital and that in 25 years he had never seen anyone suffer as much brain damage as I did and survive.
When he saw the initial CT scan he told his team to make me as comfortable as possible, that I wouldn’t live through the night. He told my family a few days later that it looked as if I would live for a while but would be bedridden and a mental vegetable as long as I did live. That was eight years, ten months ago and I am able to hobble around and drive. My left arm and hand are still totally paralyzed but I am still able to function, though at a diminished level.
Every Saturday afternoon the local veterans’ center, a nursing home for veterans, airs a movie. Yesterday’s was called “Facing the Giants,” with a high school football team as the focus. The message behind the movie is the ability of Almighty God to overcome “impossible” circumstances and His willingness to do so if we will only believe and turn to Him in our time of need.
The coach and his wife faced a really bad situation, the coach under pressure from a group of players’ fathers who wanted him fired due to his lack of success on the field. Compounding that were financial problems and his and his wife’s inability to conceive a child. The coach also had to deal with players who had given up on ever being able to have a winning season.
The coach turned to God, praying for help in all aspects of his life and taking that message to his players. The coach was eventually given a brand new pickup by an anonymous donor, his team responded to his message of faith, he was given a pay raise, his wife conceived, and the team defeated the three-time champions for the state championship that season. His message to the team was that they would praise God when they won AND when they lost. After starting the season 0-3 they ran off an unbeaten string, ending in winning the championship over a team bigger, stronger and faster with more players. The Giants had 85 players compared to the Eagles’ 32 and could therefore keep bringing fresh players in.
I can relate to this movie and it moved me very much. I said from my first memory that the stroke would not define me, that I would overcome it with God’s help. I have had three dreams of full recovery so I KNOW God is going to restore me eventually. The rub is that God has His way and His time frame to heal me. My time frame is long past but I will wait as long as it takes to see my restoration. The only one who can prevent restoration is myself, if I surrender to despair and give up, which I WILL NOT DO.
The first dream, in May 2016, told me I would wake up in the morning fully restored. It wasn’t THAT morning; when I jumped up thanking God I discovered nothing had changed and immediately fell down. The second dream was April 23, 2021 in which I was walking through an auto repair shop with a bolt and nut, holding the bolt in my right hand and using my paralyzed left hand to unscrew the nut, remove four washers, then replace the washers and screw the nut back on the bolt. My walk was normal, not the severe limp I now deal with. The third dream was May 4, 2023 in which I was half walking, half dancing around the altars at the front of Faith Holiness Tabernacle church, clapping my hands and thanking Jesus for the recovery. So far I haven’t seen the restoration but I KNOW it is coming; soon, I believe.
In the meantime I serve at the veterans’ center doing all I am able to do, which isn’t really very much, and also serving at Faith Holiness and Cedarpoint churches, also doing what little I am able to do to contribute. My limitations and my response to them gives others, especially people with similar or worse disabilities, encouragement to keep a positive attitude and the inspiration to have faith that they will recover also. Seeing others encouraged by my attitude is very rewarding to me.
While I am very limited in the physical realm, my ability to share my faith and encourage others is unlimited and I try my best to maximize it as much as possible. There are perfectly healthy people who have told me that me sharing my faith has encouraged them to look to God in areas of problems in their lives, whether financial, relational, or any other issue they may have.
Faith is extremely important in weathering the trials of life. I don’t know how anyone cannot believe in God when they see the many miracles that surround them. Faith is easy when things are great, but tough times, like my stroke, are when faith is tested and one’s true faith will show. It is such a privilege that God is allowing me to be an example to others. His Word says that He will never give us more than we can bear and will always be with us when we call on Him for help. We have ordered the movie “Facing the Giants” along with five other inspirational movies so I can watch them any time I need strength to continue, times which come regularly. I am no stronger than anyone else, but I know where the strength comes from and am not too proud to ask for it when I need it.
I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it doie from neglect.