How a Nudge From the Lord Saved My Daughter’s Life and Renewed My Faith

It was a Tuesday, shortly after noon, and I was about to leave home for work. Noelle, my 11-year-old daughter, had spent the morning in bed sick, but I’d convinced her to get up and have a bite to eat before her grandmother arrived and I left. While waiting for my daughter downstairs, I heard her shower turn on. Getting impatient, I considered just saying goodbye and heading out, but by the grace of God, I waited.  

Only a few minutes later, Noelle’s voice rang out from the bathroom: “Mom!” I ran into the bathroom and found her in the shower, half-saying and half-crying, “I feel like I’m going to fall asleep!” I helped her out of the shower and wrapped her in a towel. As I laid her down on the bathroom floor, she told me that her hands felt tingly.  Seconds later, she exclaimed, “My hands! My hands! I can’t move my hands!” Her hands were bent at the wrists, three-fourths clenched, and she was unable to relax them. Only a moment had passed before the same was true of her feet. Then, the tingles spread to her face.

Fearful that she was having a seizure or stroke, I frantically dialed 911. As soon as I hung up the phone, I began praying over my daughter. With the little speaking ability that my daughter had, she told God that she loved Him. As I calmly and boldly prayed aloud, God’s peace enveloped me. Although I was terrified and uncertain of what was happening, I knew that He was in control. 

The paramedics arrived and prepared to take Noelle to the emergency room. As I helped her get dressed, she asked me to sing.  Now, I’m not a great singer. I’m not one to go around the house singing, but with no hesitation, I began to sing the first song that popped into my mind: “Raise an Hallelujah.” “I raise a hallelujah,” I began, and Noelle joined in. “I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm, louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar.”  There we were, singing in the middle of our storm — and there God was in the midst of it. The peace we felt was undeniable; without a doubt, God was with us.  

At the hospital, the physicians drew blood and ran all kinds of tests. It turns out that Noelle’s potassium level had dropped to 3.0. If her level dropped just one-tenth of a point more, she would’ve been in critical condition. Had she not been rushed to the hospital, she might not have made it. But God. Two IVs later, we were heading home. 

I shudder to think of the alternate ending. All I can say is, praise God. I praise Him for nudging me to stay at home. And though those moments in the bathroom were among the most terrifying of my life, I praise Him for those, too. It was in those moments that we witnessed the power of His peace — as well as the beauty of singing in the middle of our storms.        

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them our of their distress.  He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea where hushed.”  – Psalm 107:28-29