by Cherrilynn Bisbano @bisbanowrites

Did life interrupt your plan to join us at the conference?

Last year, I was on faculty and head of the Blue Ridge Prayer Warrior Team. I had all my classes ready and purchased small gifts for the prayer team.

As I sat in my mother’s living room in Rhode Island, I knew she needed me. Her dementia worsened, and my sister was exhausted from caring for her.

I chose to stay in Rhode Island and not attend the conference. I was sad, but God reminded me of a powerful lesson I thought I had learned years earlier.

 I stood in Trauma Unit One of Rhode Island Hospital. My sister, Charlene,  looked uncomfortable lying on the metal table in a neck brace. I cried out to the Lord,

Help, my sister, don’t let her be paralyzed.

After her examination, the doctor determined she had a fracture in her neck, and he didn’t know the extent of the damage.

A pickup truck rear-ended her on the highway and fled the scene. I was the first person she called.

“Don’t move, especially your head. Keep it still! Stay in the car and wait for the ambulance.”

My Emergency Medical Technician training kicked in.

“I feel fine!” Charlene insisted.

“Please, please, wait for the ambulance, you may be in shock and adrenaline can hide symptoms of injury!”

My sister took my advice.

A Code Blue interrupted my prayer. I heard feet shuffle behind me, I turned to see the doctor nod to the nurse next to him. I watched as she passed the foot of Charlene’s bed and disappeared into the next room.

How can I take care of her? My book is on hold, speaking is on hold, and coffee with friends is on hold. My life is disrupted because I need to take care of my sister.

I felt guilty for thinking about myself and not my sister. As doctors performed a tracheotomy on a gunshot victim only feet away, and a woman’s heart stopped in the next trauma room, my guilt increased.

Lord, please forgive me for being selfish. I’ll stop my life and take care of my sister and…

The Holy Spirit interrupted my prayer and impressed upon my heart, This IS your life, Your life is NOT on hold. Now, pray for those around you.

I began to pray for the man behind me with the gunshot wound. I also prayed for the doctors as they used the electric paddles and revived the elderly woman in the next room.

The nurse took my sister for more tests. I joined the family and friends of the gunshot victim in the waiting room. Itold them I prayed for him and his loved ones.

“Thank you, I cannot go see him because I’m not immediate family.” The girl said to me in between her sobs.

“I’ll tell his mom to whisper in his ear that you are here,” I said.

The mom heard our conversation from across the waiting room.

“Absolutely, I will tell him.”

The mom and I returned to Trauma Unit One. I went to Bay B, and the mom went to Bay A. There was no curtain or wall between our loved ones. I watched as she whispered something in his ear. I dared not stare too long, so I hurried to my sister’s side.

 “Pull the tube out, he’s breathing on his own,” the doctor said.

I turned and smiled at his mom and clasped my hands as if to pray.

She smiled and said, “Thank you.”

I spent the night in the ER with my sister.

She had a small fracture.

They sent her home with a neck brace and instructions to return in two days.

The next morning, she was in excruciating pain.

Yes, Lord, I will take care of her. I prayed as I called 911. I did not want to transport her and make her injury worse.

As the doctor sent her for more X-rays, I waited and prayed.

As she ate crackers, we waited for the next steps. I told Charlene I would take her to all her appointments.

“I don’t know what happened, ” the doctor said. I looked at your previous two films, and there was a small fracture. No fracture shows now.”

We left with muscle relaxers for the neck spasms.

We still praise God for His miracle and the powerful lesson I continue to learn.

I cherish the time I spent with my mom dancing, singing, and eating Oreos. We prayed for the conference, and I showed my mom pictures of my friends winning awards. We made eternal memories.

My mom’s dementia took away her ability to walk and swallow. She is now dancing with Jesus.

This is my life—right here—right now! May I live it to the fullest, praising God, no matter what “interrupts” my day.

Has God interrupted your plans? Please join the conversation.

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer, coach, editor, and speaker. As former managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest. Cherrilynn is a speaker with Women Speakers. Her topics include leadership, book proposals, and the Bible.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. Her work in progress, Accidental Findings, won the first 10 pages award with, When Words Count Retreat. You can find her published in Blue Ridge Writers Blog, Southern Writers, More to Life (MTL), Christian Rep, Christian Voice, Refresh, and other online magazines. Cherrilynn is a contributor to award-winning, Get to the Margins-Author Anthology; Breaking the Chains; Heart Reno, Kiss Guilt Goodbye; and Chicken Soup for the Soul-Miracles books. Her latest book, Shine Don’t Whine, released October 2020. Cherrilynn proudly served in the Navy and Air National Guard, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.  She lives with her eighteen-year-old son, Michael, Jr., and husband of 22 years. Cherrilynn loves Christ, Chocolate, coffee, and Cats. You will often find her on the beach sea glass hunting.