God Gave Carl a Miracle

By Ada Brownell

–An excerpt from the book, What Prayer Can Do

I met Carl Johnson when he was in high school and I taught the high school class at First Assembly of God in Pueblo, Colo. His sister came, and one of the girls in the class and I went to visit her, to extend an enthusiastic welcome. His sister wasn’t home, but Carl worked on a car in the garage when we walked up to the home.

I told him where we were from and why we’d come.

“She’s not here, but I’ll come,” the huge handsome football player said with a smile. He and his sister came, and it wasn’t long before Carl gave his life to the Lord.

The class of about 25 youth was well attended, and Carl fit in to the class and our fun activities. Then my husband and I moved to Denver, but returned after about 15 years. It wasn’t long after we’d moved back that Carl’s wife, Virginia, related this story, first published in The Pentecostal Evangel on Nov. 15, 1981. I ghost wrote the article for Virginia.

GOD GAVE CARL A MIRACLE

By Virginia Johnson

As told to Ada Nicholson Brownell

It was like a horrid nightmare. We had just moved into our new house. By 5 p.m. I had many things put away, dinner was in the oven, and I was curling my wet hair.

A boy came running in the back door. ”Come quick!” he blurted breathlessly. “Your husband has been hurt.”

I ran across the prairie behind our home. Carl was lying on his back, unconscious. He was covered with dirt, his clothes torn, blood on his head. His motorcycle was close by.

I began to pray to God for help.

Neighbors came, then the first-aid squad, and finally an ambulance.

After he was in the hospital emergency room, Pastor Darrel Madsen of Pueblo Christian Center, a few relatives and I prayed, and waited for word about his condition.

About 9 p.m. the doctor came out to explain Carl’s injuries. He said Carl had a torn ear which had been stitched. His face had been sanded because of the ground-in dirt. He had a head injury and was semi-conscious.

Most serious at the moment was pneumonia. “It will be seventy-two hours before we’ll know if he’ll live,” the doctor said.

I couldn’t believe I was hearing such a thing! Surely it was not God’s will that Carl should die!

I promised the Lord if He would let Carl get well, we would serve Him the rest of our days. Our Christian lives hadn’t been consistent up this point. I had been a rather shallow Christian, and Carl had just started back to church on a regular basis.

After they took Carl to intensive care, they let me see him. What a shock! He had always been so strong and big, but now he lay in a semi-coma, with an oxygen tent over him; tubes were in his feet, His hands and feet were tied to the bed.

Sickness hit my stomach and anger consumed me.

Why God? Why Carl? Why should our lives stand still when others keep living normally?

Then I began to pray. When I opened my eyes, a glow surrounded Carl’s bed. I was assured he was going to be all right.

That first night I stayed in the hospital, and Carl’s sister Carol joined me.

The nurses called Carl “Samson” because he broke the straps on his wrists. Leather straps were the only kind he couldn’t break. When he started regaining consciousness, his cousin, Barry Burbidge, was summoned to help calm him down.

When Carl tried to speak, he talked in a thick monotone. But he couldn’t make sense except to ask questions about our son, Kevin.

Tests showed there was some damage to his brain, which was bruised and swollen. The doctor told me Carl probably would never work again.

He rarely moved his eyes. Because he never blinked, nurses used eye drops to moisten them.

On the seventh day after the accident, he was helped into a chair so he could sit up. He was unable to use his left side. His head drooped on his chest.

But people continued to pray, and I was encouraged to keep believing. I could see changes in Carl almost daily. His voice modulated a little when he spoke. He moved his eyes a bit.

Finally he learned to use a walker. The doctor said he could go home if he could walk and dress alone.

On the nineteenth day he walked alone. Six days later he was able to read. The next day he went home.

Carl had the assurance he was going to be healed. He often repeated the verse, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

Through the Lord’s healing touch and strength, Carl became physically, mentally, and spiritually strong again. He went back to work after only six weeks absence.

The accident occurred March 10, 1972. Since that time our lives have been different.

When Carl was in the hospital I saw life from a new perspective. Our new house, furnishings, and other material things no longer mattered. No one but the Lord could comfort me.

I’ve learned so much. Life now has such meaning. God, heaven, and eternal life are much more important than earthly things.

Life is so precious. I thank God for giving Carl back to me and our four boys—completely whole.

Note: Carl is in heaven now. He died about 10 years ago of something unrelated to the accident, and faithfully served the Lord all those extra years the Lord gave him.

Pray. God answers.

True testimonies of events where God intervened.

Ennis Surratt, known as the “meanest man in town,” changed in a moment. John Feliciano, blinded in an industrial accident, sees instantly. Marjorie Eager’s family escapes death when God stops a forest fire. A mother prays on her deathbed for her sons to meet her in heaven, and years later God grabs Gary Hilgers out of sin and turns him around. More amazing chapters originally published in The Pentecostal Evangel, enough for every week of the year, with three bonuses. Buy here: http://ow.ly/9CEI30h4IdL

Ada Brownell has been writing for Christian publications since age 15 and spent much of her life as a daily newspaper reporter. She has a B.S. degree in Mass Communications and worked most of her career at The Pueblo Chieftain in Colo., where she spent the last seven years as a medical writer. After moving to Springfield, MO in her retirement, she continues to free lance for Christian publications and write non-fiction and fiction books. She has seven published books.