“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Waiting.
The day after symptoms sent me from Urgent Care to the Emergency Room, I was waiting in a chair for the results of a heart stress test. The stress test team had moved on to the next person in the room next door to mine. Waiting for the test results.
What happened next is hard to describe and I don’t remember the timing. I would feel waves of intense pain, then I would feel better. That pattern repeated. I couldn’t talk, but I finally got the attention of the cardiologist standing in the hallway. He read my EKG that was still going and suddenly I received a lot of attention. Another wave or two of pain and I was loaded onto a gurney and literally ran through the hallways to the Emergency Department.
Ok, let’s pause here and go back to the 26-year-old father of two boys at the birth of his first baby girl. When she was born, she was blue and unresponsive but eventually had a weak cry. She was flown by helicopter to a regional neonatal intensive care unit at UNC-Chapel Hill. After two days, her father was told that she had less than a five percent chance of survival.
I went to the UNC Chapel Hill hospital chapel for a prayer that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. “Dear Lord, please spare our baby”, a simple prayer. God’s presence then filled that chapel, and He spoke four words that changed my life, “You will be ok”. I immediately realized that God’s words did not say whether Bethany would be ok, but that I would be ok. This was God’s promise to me, and it’s God’s promise to you, that no matter what our burden may be, we are all in God’s hands. He keeps us as we go through them, not always around them.
Ok, back to 2025 and that Emergency Department room. As I entered that room, I immediately experienced a peace that could not be described. It did not descend on the room while I was there; it was already there when I arrived.
There, a waiting team of doctors and nurses started a flurry of activity. I received drugs through an IV to treat my heart and for waves of pain that were becoming more frequent and more intense. I was in significant pain, but I was not afraid. The cardiologist started repeating a bad word over and over, then was pacing while talking on his cell phone. Not a good sign. One of the nurses and one of the doctors ended up arguing over how often to repeat alternating drugs with the doctor saying, ‘He has to have it’. After about the eighth wave, the pain finally subsided and I was rushed to a heart catheterization.
I received a stent in the Left Anterior Descending artery, one of the main blood vessels supplying the heart, to correct two adjacent blockages, one 99% and the other 70%.
I am deeply grateful for the prayers offered on my behalf. God showed His mercy to me and my family. I received a 100% recovery prognosis with no damage to my heart. I am thankful for my family and their support during this time. I know this was devastating for them. They are my rock. Rena is my rock.
The peace that covered me in that emergency room was not just for me. The peace that I experienced covers everyone that reads or hears this story. His grace is here, for you, now.
Ok. That’s Part 1 of My Story of Peace. Wait ‘til you hear Part 2, the most unexpected event in my life so far. Stay tuned.