From Hell to Heaven

I was at work and had just asked the store assistant to mail off our July 27 wedding invitations. Later that morning, the phone rang; it was a doctor calling from the hospital. He said my fiancé was leaving after his shift in the emergency room as another emergency came in. He turned back to attend to it, sent the patient to Montego Bay Hospital, and left.

As the ambulance returned from Montego Bay, Jamaica, they noticed his car on the side of the road. He had been in an accident and was found unconscious behind the wheel.

They rushed him to Montego Bay. I cannot recall much of what happened next other than our church elder driving me into Kingston.

On the way, we learned my fiancé had been airlifted to the University Hospital. Two surgeries were performed, and the doctors monitored, attended, and consulted.

Prayers ascended from Montego Bay to Saint Catherine, every parish, island, and country where Advent Fellowship peers and our families lived.

The next morning, the doctors gave us an update.

My fiancé’s brain had been extremely damaged. If he survived, he would be in a vegetative state. It felt surreal. We continued to pray, press, and hope, but by nightfall, I heard the words, “Keisha, he is dead.” At that moment, I felt I had died too.

There were no words! The ensuing days, weeks, months, and years were filled with dread. I could not be cheered. I planned my own funeral.

Somehow, I still ate, slept, and prayed.

A few years later, God sent a new pastor to our church district.

God used him to fuel my spiritual renewal.

I found meaningful redirection and immeasurable joy in the Living Word. While I still genuinely do not understand the events of that day, I have accepted that “the LORD gave, and LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21, KJV).

At my most desperate points, God reminded me that He had plans for me. From what the devil meant for evil, the Lord has brought forth much good.

God is good! Oh, I thank Him! He has blessed me beyond what I could ever have imagined or asked! If you are devastated today, please know, God will never leave you or forsake you! He is with you. Rest, if you must, but be assured that He will renew your strength. Your resurrection is on the way. Because of Jesus—there is hope!

Keisha D. Sterling-Richards