Testimony: Trusting God In Your Process

TRUSTING GOD IN YOUR PROCESS

By Elder Anthony G. McDaniel

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD - Psalm 116:12-13

am a living witness that God can be trusted in your process!

My wife and I, Carla Ruth McDaniel, have always been healthy believers in the body of Christ, standing in faith, trusting God on every side, vacationing twice, sometimes three times a year, just enjoying the blessings of the LORD! Prior to the start of Covid-19, we were engaged in ministry, outreach, in-reach, whatever we could find our hands to do, inside and outside the walls of the Church, newlyweds, celebrating our seventh year of marital bliss! Out of nowhere, unannounced, Covid-19 showed up, and changed the way we would view life from that point forward. Our Covid journey began on a cold Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2020. My wife and I went to Sam’s Club to stock up on supplies, due to the threat of businesses and establishments closing due to the pandemic. We, like others, went about our normal business while shopping. I recall a gentleman sneezing, my wife and I both commented, let’s hurry up and get out of here with all these germy people (we made this statement jokingly).

IOn my wife’s birthday, Tuesday, March 17th, she wasn’t feeling well. At this time, the news media was consumed with conversations about the virus. So, my wife asked the obvious question, do you think that I have Covid? I responded NO, perhaps just a cold or the flu. Still not thinking that anything was seriously wrong, we decided to order dinner in and just celebrate her birthday at home. A few days later she still wasn’t feeling well. Her doctor prescribed a Z-pac. Still, a few days after that, Carla still wasn’t feeling well. We continued to pray and believe God for healing. On March 23rd around 2:35 am, Ruth woke me up and said, honey I need to go to the hospital; something is not right. The ambulance came. On March 26th my wife called and told me she tested positive and they wanted her to go on the ventilator. The infectious disease doctor informed me that my wife was one of the first confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the State of Indiana. We prayed, and I said you will be fine. That was the last conversation that we would have until April 28, 2020.

While my wife was fighting for her life, I was running temperatures between 100 to 102. I’d lost taste, and was isolated from everyone…it felt as if the heavens were brass over my head.

The only human contact I had was with the doctors and nursing staff so I was in constant contact with them daily.

My first phone call came from the doctor: Anthony, how far do you live from the hospital? I said I’m 10 minutes away. She stated things are taking a turn for the worse with Carla, and that I may need to come to the hospital. At the time…the only persons allowed at the hospital were those who were birthing a child or the transitioning of a love one. The doctor stated my wife needed to be placed on the ECMO machine, as a last option. I agreed.

In Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), blood is pumped outside of your body to a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygenfilled blood back to tissues in the body. Blood flows from the right side of the heart to the membrane oxygenator in the heart-lung machine, and then is rewarmed and sent back to the body.

This method allows the blood to “bypass” the heart and lungs, allowing these organs to rest and heal. My wife, a healthy woman had no underlining health conditions and as a result of Covid-19, her lungs were severely impacted.

The second phone call, within hours, came from the doctor who stated: Anthony, I’m so sorry but in my professional opinion I don’t believe your wife is going to make it. If she goes down, I won’t resuscitate her. I thanked her for all she had done, but I told her God has the final say. She said, you are absolutely right.

The third phone call came from the doctor who would again share that they would not resuscitate Carla if things went south. He shared that doing so could possibly break her ribs and ultimately kill her. I said “if they break her ribs,” she can recover from broken ribs.

While my queen Carla Ruth battled for her life, she also had to be placed on double life support systems. Life was dark. I couldn’t hear a word from heaven. I had no one to assist me; family and friends couldn’t help due to Covid restrictions.

Then a fourth call came in my soul, as I laid full of fever and as fear had become a close friend. I heard the Lord speak, from Isaiah 26:3 in the original language: I will keep you in peace! Then I heard the Lord say, a bruised rid and a smoking flax I would not despise.

With tears running down my face, I sat up and said, in other words, Lord, where there is no life, you can speak life into a dead situation.

The next morning, the doctor shared that while Carla was not completely out of the woods, Carla’s health was starting to turn around. I thanked God for what He was doing! The doctor also shared that my wife had developed bleeding in her organs. The ear, nose, and throat specialist was called in to see if they could determine the cause of the bleed. They had to perform surgery to stop the bleeding. After my research on Google, I learned that the bleeding could’ve been a potential side effect from the ECMO machine.

My wife would spend four more weeks in the hospital, ultimately arriving home on May 4th. God is a healer! Today, both my wife and I are healthy, whole and grateful! Covid allowed us to see a side of God like never before!

When life is at its darkest, God can bring you into the light of day. Child of God, be not weary in well doing, for in due season, you shall reap if you faith not.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elder Anthony G. McDaniel is an ordained Elder with the PAW who has been in ministry since 1988. Called to ministry under the late Great Prince of preachers Bishop Morris E. Golder, he and his wife Carla are the proud parents of Britteny McDaniel, Eric and Cheyenne Moore; and 2 godchildren Ashton and Amir Scott. Elder McDaniel serves as the Associate Pastor over outreach ministry of Grace Apostolic Church, Indianapolis, Indiana, under the leadership of Bishop Kevin M. Harrison.