Day 1

June 11th 2017 approximately 8 hours after

escaping our housefire.

After an excruciating (physically and emotionally) three-hour ambulance ride from the Lloydminster Hospital to the U of A Hospital in Edmonton- Hopefully, someone can now fill me in on what is happening with Jason...

“Amanda, my name is Curtis.

Your husband has landed. He is being admitted down the hall as we speak.”

A nurse, gentle in nature, informs me as he stands at the foot of my stretcher.

“How is he? Can I see him?” I push my questions through my tightened throat.

Remorse floods his face as he takes a deep breath and repositions his glasses.

“I need you to understand something…Jason’s injuries are substantial; he is in critical condition. We are doing everything we can to stabilize him. But Amanda, there is a high probability that your husband will succumb to his injuries within the next 24 hours.”

Before fear had a chance to grip my heart, through quivering lips, I declared, “In Jesus’ name, he is going to live. He will not die!”

Curtis lowers his head and takes another deep breath… “I am so sorry. The burn unit upstairs is preparing both of your rooms. A nurse will be down shortly to take you up.” With his head still hung, he steps out of the room.

Tears begin to stream down my face, burning my raw cheeks.

“…. You are not leaving me here. There is no way. You didn’t wake us up and get us out of the house to have him die here.”

With a deep knowing in my spirit, a knowing that Jason would not die, I surrendered all my fear at the feet of Jesus.

“God, I trust you."

This moment, along with many others, vividly replays in my mind regularly. So vivid that I can feel the trembling in my body as the air wraps around my exposed seared skin, the tears burning my face…I can smell my singed hair. I can hear the tone of the nurse’s voice, and feel my heart sink into the pit of my stomach just as it did at that moment. The buzzing from the light above, and the noise in the background from the nurse’s station, just out the door.

My mother was widowed when she was pregnant with me. Growing up with a mom who had experienced the loss of a spouse, there was always a quiet fear that sat in the corner of my heart—planted there from a young age. When I married Jason, that fear began to rear its ugly head more often. I did not want to lose my best friend. I could not fathom it. I did not ever want to experience the heartache of my mother…

Two weeks leading up to June 11th, I felt an intense urgency to cover Jay in prayer, precisely for protection over him. Multiple times throughout the days, I would need to stop everything I was doing and lift him up. Unknown at the time, but evident now, God was going before and preparing my heart and interceding for what was to come.

While things unexpectedly happen to us all, NOTHING catches Christ off guard. The call to specifically pray for Jason’s protection was just one of the many ways God divinely went before.

When Curtis told me Jay was unstable, I was faced with a choice: Allow my lifelong fear to suffocate me in its reality or believe with all my heart that a miracle is on its way—choosing to surrender immediately flooded my heart and spirit with peace and true hope. I knew I was going to see God move in a mighty way. The stage was beautifully set.

I have expressed this many times before, but it still stands true: I am so grateful to be alive. I am beyond thankful that Jason isn’t just alive, but he is flourishing. The past few years have been a whirlwind. Aside from the fire, the loss, and pain that comes as a result, we have faced many other changes and obstacles that have stretched us even more. But for every trial, no matter its size, we have experienced an unspeakable amount of breakthrough and deliverance in our individual lives and, most importantly, in our marriage. The fire has changed us. A defining moment in our lives, for which we will never be the same. And I say that with deep gratitude and joy in my heart.

While I would never ask to experience the fire, the pain, and the heartache again, I can honestly and wholeheartedly tell you that because of how this trial has grown my faith, transformed my heart and my marriage…because of how intimately I have come to know Jesus through it….I wouldn’t ask for a single moment to be taken back.

What the enemy meant for evil, The Lord will turn around and use for the good.

…and what Christ has started, He is faithful to complete.

__________________

The top two photos were taken in the emergency room at the University of Alberta Hospital, in Edmonton. Just before I was taken up to the burn unit.

The photos below were taken by my mother, upon her arrival later that evening.