Hold on to your hats for this story. It is amazing! And another one gleaned from a Third Day Fan friend, Robin Martin.
Robin is currently spending lots of time in the hospital with her dad, who she expects will soon be with the Lord due to congestive heart failure. Though she will sorely miss her father when God decides to take him home, she is grateful for the additional seven years she was given with him. The following is the story of how God gave her those years, and though it has elements which are bitter-sweet, they are a reminder that God, in His infinite wisdom, has His palm over our lives, and He will not allow us to slip from His Awesome Love.
Here is what she posted, along with the picture that tells it all:
To my friends of Third Day Fan Club:
7 years ago, on Thanksgiving Day, my father was in desperate need of a heart. As always in saying our blessing before our meal, we asked that God send us a message that dad would get a heart. After dinner, my now-deceased sister, was slicing the remainder of the ham and to everyone's surprise this is what she sliced into. See the picture. No other slice before it ... This slice and the next slice directly behind it had the same heart in the grain of the ham. ONLY TWO SLICES. We rejoiced and thanked God for the sign. Yes dad got his heart transplant, 5 weeks later. My sister was killed in a motorcycle accident. Our pastor said yes it was definitely a sign from God that Robert was going to GET a heart but also that Monique was going to GIVE her heart! How awesome!
My prayer for my father now... 7 years and God is paving his path to return home. Hard? Yes! Our family was blessed to have 7 extra years with our dad! Please keep him in prayer today as he will keep up his fight until his end. God bless you all as I CRY OUT TO JESUS!
Robin’s dad will be 73 in a few days—October 29th. He had his first major heart attack at 38, three more after that, three open heart surgeries, two strokes, survived colon cancer, skin cancer and a heart transplant. I’d call him a survivor!!! Evidently, God had a plan for those now, almost 73, years. We shouldn’t take any of this for granted!
God has our story written as well. It starts with His loving design of who we are, moves through the sacrifice of His only Son and ends in His Loving Embrace. I rest in this knowledge.
Peace!