Todd & Katy

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 (NIV)

Good morning Girlfriends!

I hope you had time to read yesterday's message which introduced my two friends. Today I begin to tell you why I am so encouraged and inspired by these two amazing people.

Todd and Katy met in 1999, began dating in 2000, and were married on August 9, 2003. By all accounts in her diary, Katy was head over heels in love with Todd, and he adored his bride. Their wedding album, full of smiles and enchanting photos, depicts a fairy tale affair. In the following months, they basked in the newlywed glow. Todd and Katy loved God, and they loved each other. All was well in their world. God's promises remain unchanged.

"‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19: 5-6

With the tree decorated and gifts wrapped, the promise of a cherished first Christmas together was drawing near. Todd and Katy did not know that instead of celebrating the birth of their Savior, they would experience life on the brink of death and a rebirth of a very changed Katy. On December 23, 2003, outside the restaurant where Katy worked, a moving vehicle struck her as she was crossing the street to complete an errand. Katy suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) which left her in a coma for weeks. When she emerged from the coma, several more weeks passed before she could utter a sound. Todd was devastated, yet he kept a prayerful vigil at her bedside.

During these moments of fear and doubt, Todd wrestled with God. He tells how he prayed over the Lord's promises there in the hospital room with his beloved hooked to monitors, tubes, and machines. Why did this happen? Will she live? What does our future hold? Questions, doubt, and fear. Yet God's promises remain unchanged.

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." Jeremiah 29: 11-12

At the same time, the entire community lifted this couple up to the Lord. The church where Todd's father was the pastor kept the residents updated on their outside sign. A caller notified the local Christian radio station, and believers everywhere were praying for Katy. Surrounded by this love and faithfulness, Katy survived; however, as a result of the brain injury, her memories perished. Katy had no recollection of her deep love for Todd nor their wedding or honeymoon. She didn't recognize the house in which they lived. The clothes in her closet were foreign objects. Nothing was right in their world.

At the rehab institute, Katy was like a newborn baby, learning to function again. Holding her head upright, moving her limbs, talking--everything she had done on a daily basis without a thought was now a monumental chore. Yet Todd remained, encouraging her through each phase. Katy shows a photo of her in a wheelchair with Todd squatting at the side, his hand upon hers. On Katy's lap is a dog, which is providing therapy to prompt Katy to use her limbs again. She lights up talking about these amazing pets which stirred her into action when no other therapy worked. Katy progressed and was eventually released to go home and continue with outpatient therapy for another year.

Herein lies the heartbreak and struggle: home was not home for Katy, and home was everything Todd desperately desired to be normal again. Katy fought to regain her life physically yet mentally the slate had been wiped clean. The abyss of depression seemed to be sucking her down. Todd engaged Satan at every level to reclaim his bride. We cannot imagine the battles they faced in the midst of this war. Yet, Todd persisted, Katy endured, and God's promises remain unchanged.

" Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139: 7-10

Girlfriends, the story continues tomorrow, but for today, won't you pray for Todd and Katy? Won't you reflect upon your relationship with Lord, asking yourself if you are standing on His unchanged promises in the midst of whatever trial you may be facing? May you feel God's grace upon you today!