Miracle of the Heartbeat
God's Gift of Time - Over 23 Million Added Seconds
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Dear Reader, It has been over twenty years since his death, and I now feel that I can tell this story. I feel that God had urged me to finish this story for three reasons – one, so others will understand this rare disease and the importance of organ transplantation, two, so that people will know the man who had the courage and bravery to fight against its ravages with more grace and dignity than humanly possible, and finally, but most importantly, so that others can know that even when everything in life that happens is not good, God himself is inherently good and pours his goodness into our lives even amidst the most difficult circumstances. I started this story four years after Tom’s death. It has taken me 17 years to complete it as over the years, every time I sat down and worked on the next part of the story, I would write some and then stop. The memories, the pain, the trauma of it all came flooding back to my very core. If I worked more than a day or two, I would start having nightmares again and go back into the deep state of depression that was once my reality. So, I would put it aside and force it from my mind so that I would not have to feel the pain all over again. I doubted that I would ever finish this story. I felt no urgency or desire to even complete it. However, one day as I was looking for some photos on an old flash drive, this story jumped out at me. It had been a few years since I had written anything on it. As I closed my computer, I heard a still small voice inside of me saying that I needed to finish it. My first thought was that I did not want to go there. I did not want to relive the pain of those years. God quickly changed my thoughts and reminded me that I had a story of his love and goodness to share with others. I was a personal witness to many miracles that God performed and not to share and give God his due glory for them was a sin of omission on my part. My thoughts were further confirmed during a sermon at church the next week. Our pastor spoke about turning our pain into a sacrifice of praise and how God can handle our pain and use our pain to help someone else. For the first time since I started writing this story, I felt an urgency to finish it. There are so many people hurting from life events that threaten to overwhelm them and could benefit from reading about how God shows up even in the hardest of times. I feel that this story is meant to be told at this point in history, and God has a plan for someone who will read it. Tom would tell everyone that the most important change in his life began at the point when he made the decision to go to the altar at our church and surrender all to Christ in the year 2000. This decision changed his life, his priorities and how he lived the remainder of his life. Looking back now, I see this year as a pivotal year – a year when we were made truly aware of the love and forgiving grace of God and the words of John 3:16. Little did either of us know how crucial the faith-building year of 2000 would become in our lives when, in 2002, Tom would be diagnosed with an incurable and rare illness. He once said that if everything that he went through helped lead one person to Christ, then it was all worth it. Tom’s strong faith and belief has impacted more lives than he could have ever realized and although twenty years have passed, there remains an ongoing impact from Tom’s life multiplied through each of those lives. If putting this story on paper so that others can read it does the same, then I will know my purpose for completing it. Even now, as I finish up the end of our story, the pain, the tears and the memories are often too much to bear, and I stop and come back another time. Although the pain will never completely leave me and these memories are still very vivid in my mind, I am thankful that God allowed me the strength to put these words on paper so that others may understand the man, the disease and the power of God’s love and grace. Some of you may be fighting the same disease that was Tom’s diagnosis or other diseases that are just as difficult. For you and those who love you, I pray that when you need it most, you will find strength from the hope and promises found in the 23rd Psalm and in John 3:16. – Sandra
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
One day you are moving through life doing the ordinary, seemingly mundane tasks that weave a family together. Another day you find yourself sitting in a doctor’s office, listening to the words spoken to your husband, “You need to get your affairs in order; you have at best three to six months to live.” In his mid-forties, Tom was diagnosed with AL Amyloidosis that attacked his heart and nervous system. Miracle of the Heartbeat is about Tom’s journey battling this disease and the multiple miracles that took place for him to become one of the first amyloid patients ever to receive a transplanted heart and a stem cell transplant. One fact we must remember as Christians, is that following God does not make us exempt from struggle or pain. Trouble, distress, suffering, trials and difficulty occur in the lives of everyone at one time or another. You may not suffer from a terminal disease as Tom did, but the range of emotions and connections to God shared in this book relate to anyone who is in pain of any sort. Although this book chronicles Tom’s journey through the valley of the shadow, it is a book that gives a keen awareness of precious moments of time given through this valley. May the hope, love, encouragement, miracles and revelations God poured out to me, in telling Tom’s story in Miracle of the Heartbeat, speak to you and reassure you in your own hard time.
About the Author
Sandra Colvard Ray locked her experiences and pain-filled times inside for over twenty years. Now, in a straightforward release of emotions and events, she shares miracles that happened against all odds, bringing added moments of time to love, to dream, to hope. She is a retired educator living in North Carolina.