Kris & Kyle Browning's Testimony
On Sunday - January 7th, 2001, our twenty-two year old nephew, Jason, (who has had difficulties with blood pressure since childhood) suffered a stroke. We were at the hospital with the family for most of the day, as Jay was in very critical shape.
We want to be upfront. We were not Christians and we know little about it. Not because we hadn't been told, but because we didn't care to listen.
Ever since Jason first became a Christian, he had talked of nothing else. He called, he left messages on our answering machine, he wrote letters and sent cards. All telling us that he loved us, that the Lord loved us, and that he wanted to see us become Christians, too. Our brother David has a son to be proud of. Jay has always been a good kid, and he has grown into a good man.
We began talking. This thing with Jay's blood pressure and now this stroke, maybe it was God's way of showing us what life would be like without Jay. And in a way, showing us that Jay had been right all along. We needed more than partying and running around like crazed fools.
Before this happened, the last time we saw our nephew was on Thursday. He came to a construction sight we were working on, and said he just stopped by to say hello and to invite us to church AGAIN. We told him no and that he was wasting his time by badgering us. It never dimmed his enthusiasm or his love. He just said, "You know I'll keep trying. If I didn't, then I wouldn't love you as much as I do. And you know I'm crazy about you!"
So we decided it was time to make a decision. Our Pop prayed with us that Sunday night. Our Mom and our brother David, too. We thought, if Jay lives, he'll be so happy. If he doesn't, we won't really have lost him, will we?
But he DID live! A little more than twenty-fours after he had the stroke, he was talking and eating. And when we told him that we had prayed with our parents last night, he got that beautiful grin on his face and then burst into tears. We were all crying -- but it's okay because this time they were tears of happiness and thanksgiving.
Even the doctor who treated Jay was amazed at his miraculous overnight healing. He isn't even calling it a recovery. He's calling it exactly what it is. A HEALING. And the next, the doctor met with a friend of Jay's (Kevin Stewart) to discuss the power of prayer and the act of anointing (which Kevin had done for Jay the night before his healing). And the DOCTOR gave his heart to the Lord, too! This Jewish doctor prayed with our friend and accepted Jesus Christ as his Messiah!
We had many changes to get used to in our life. No more partying, no more drinking, no more girls in a way that doesn't honor the Lord. Eventually we found the perfect girl for each of us, and the Lord will blessed us in marriage.
We were so stupid for rejecting the wonderful gifts the Lord had in store for us. We're sorry that it took a near fatality within our family before we came to our senses and made things right with God. We truly were like the Prodigal Son in the Bible (a story we remembered from classes at the Catholic church where we grew up). That story had a happy ending, too. The Prodigal ran to the open arms of the father who had been waiting for him. And this time, we ran to the open arms of our Heavenly Father, who had an arm reached out for each of His wayward prodigals. He'd been waiting for us, just like He waits for everyone.
Midi="Allelujah" (Thanks Eric & David Browning)