The Ballestero Blog

Thirteen Days From Eternity

At 3:00pm today, the nurse at the nursing home called Phyllis Crandall’s daughter and told her that her mother had just died. They had last checked her vitals and her oxygen mask at 2:15. She was 65.

Phyllis had been in failing health for a while. She was also a backslider. No one seems to remember for sure how many years she had been away from God, but she hasn’t attended church in over 20 years. That much everyone agreed on.

She had been a member at several Pentecostal churches in the area. For one reason or another, her and her husband had changed churches several times over the years. When he died, Phyllis somehow became unconnected with church and stayed that way.

Then to make matters worse, her health began to deteriorate. After stays in the hospitals, she was sent to a nursing home for her final days.

She lived with an oxygen mask on her face. Her weight problems no doubt worked against her too.

She had called her daughter almost two weeks ago and said, “I feel like I need to pray.”

Her condition was not good. Pastor Kenneth Bow was called to come and pray for her.

When he came into the room Phyllis said, “Bro. Bow, I just don’t know if I could ever speak in Tongues again.”

(Besides her health limitations, she was fearful that God wouldn’t let her because of lack of faithfulness to Him.)

“Yes you can speak in Tongues again, you’re still God’s child!” Pastor Bow said to encourage her.

He laid his hands on her, and then like he’d used Paddles that restart a stopped heart, Phyllis physically jerked and sat up in her hospital bed. Her hands in the air. In 10 seconds she was clearing speaking in Tongues. They pulled the mask aside as she prayed. She continued to speak in Tongues.

That was 13 days ago.

Death walked the corridors of her nursing home today. But 13 days ago, Mercy got there first.