| My Story |
| Last year I went to Awana Scholarship Camp in Louisiana. Our pastor for the week was a guy named Buddy Ritter (aka Pastor Buddy or PB). At one point during the week, he was telling us about a boy who contracted polio at the age of six from a sugar cube taken as a vaccine. He told us how the doctors said that the boy might not live through the night, then it was he might not live through the week, then it was he would never walk again. The boy became completely paralyzed, but finally regained use of his arms. They became his only means of travel for a while. He practiced for hours, trying to walk, falling many times. He struggled to stand, but at the age of 15 he was able to take those first few steps and entered high school where he was labeled a cripple. Amazingly I believe it was in the middle of his story (I�m not entirely sure if it was the middle or end) he told us that the boy was him. I was, I guess you could say, speechless. He went on to tell us about how he had started running a little over 15 years ago. But that�s not the most amazing part... He went on to tell us about how he entered in several races and finished. But in a 50 mile race in Dallas, he finished ---- In first place. Right after the race he went to pray. He said that he had been so bitter towards God because of his polio. There he prayed and asked God to forgive him for his bitterness. If you want to read a longer, more detailed version of PB's story click here. It's quite long, but totally worth reading. After he finished telling his story, I was completely speechless. What especially struck me hard is when he was talking about how the doctors said he might not live through the night, then he might not live through the week. One thing kept on being replayed in my mind - me the day after I was born. What you probably don't know (unless you really KNOW me), is that I was born 7 weeks premature and my right lung collapsed the day after I was born. Doctors said that I had a chance of not living and that if I was born any earlier I could have been mentally or physically disabled. I was flown to Arkansas Children�s Hospital in a helicopter the day after I was born and put on a breathing machine for the next week or so. I did get better and was allowed to go home a couple of weeks later. The images of all of that kept on replaying in my mind and God really laid it on my heart that I needed to be more thankful I was alive or not disabled in any sort of way. I went back to the cabin that night and shared the whole thing about how I had been born early and how I really felt like God had laid on my heart how I needed to be more thankful I was alive or not disabled. Later on in the week I began to doubt whether it was God who had laid that on my heart. But the most amazing thing happened going home. My dad had come to pick me up and we hadn�t been on the road that long and of course I was telling him how cool Pastor Buddy was and telling him about his polio story. And he said, �Oh yeah I forgot to show you to Pastor Buddy!� Ok I mean that sounds a bit odd, don�t you think? I was like �HUH? What are you talking about?� He told me about how Pastor Buddy had been pastor out at Sherill Missionary Baptist for a short time, which happens to be the church my dad was a member at from when he was a teenager until several years ago. I said, �oh well that�s cool.� He�s like �Hey wait I�m not finished!� He told me that PB had been pastor right around the time I was born, and even though we didn�t go much or even any at the time, that PB had come and prayed for me several times after I was born. He even told me about a specific time that he had come to Arkansas Children�s Hospital and that he asked them to all join hands while he prayed for me! WHOA! And to have been thinking about that earlier in the week! AND to have Pastor Buddy as our camp pastor! I was speechless... AGAIN. It was like God was confirming and telling me that he indeed was the one who laid that on my heart. I had always heard people tell these amazing stories about how God had worked in their lives, and I always thought that He could never do anything of that sort in my life. Man, was I wrong! I got home and HAD to find PB�s email. I finally managed to get it from another one of the camp staff members and immediately emailed him and asked him if he remembered praying for a little girl up at Arkansas Children�s Hospital 13 years ago and I told him it was me. He emailed me back and told me that he did remember that but he just couldn�t remember the name, until now. Of course when I went back this year, I HAD to talk to him about it in person. I went up to him and asked him if he remembered someone emailing him after camp last year and he goes, �Yeah you!� We got to talking about the whole thing about me being born early again and about that time the Varsity pastor, Mr. David, walked up. And PB goes, �Hey David this is the girl I told you about!� I had brought these pictures of me the day after I was born to camp and they were stuck in this little folder in my back-pack. For some odd reason I was like �Well I won't show them to him today.� So before chapel the next night I was like �Oh well I�ll show them to him tonight.� So right before we started chapel I went up and asked him if I had time to show him something and he�s like �Yeah sure.� And I pull out my binder with all my junk in it, then I pull out these pictures, gave them to him, and said �These are of me the day after I was born. I thought you might like to see them.� He stood there just looking at them for a few seconds and didn�t say anything, and then asked �Can I use these in my sermon?� And I�m like �Uhhh yeah ok...� He said thanks then we both walked off and I sat down by my friend. He started the sermon and the entire time I wondering what he�s going to do with them. He finally got to this part in Matthew 6 where Jesus gives three important �fruits or good works�. They were giving to the needy, praying, and fasting. He got to the praying one and was talking about what a difference prayer can make. He pulled my pictures from his shirt pocket and said with tears in his eyes, �13 years ago I went to visit and pray for this girl who had just been born. Her parents were told she might not live - I didn�t know the family. But you know what? That girl is sitting in this room right now.� Of course everybody is like looking around and stuff... then he says �Where are you Ashleah?� I stood up and said �uhh here I am.� He thanked me and asked "Oh can you guys pass these pictures back to her?� [talking to the people in the rows in front of me] they passed back down my pictures and I stuck them in the back of my Bible. Wow... I was again speechless. To show him those pictures on a night where he actually could use them in his sermon. I mean it could have shown them to him another night, and they would have had nothing to do with the sermon. After chapel I immediately ran up and gave him a hug and thanked him for using them. It took me several minutes to get back to my cabin because I had tons of people stopping me on the way wanting to see the pictures better and wanting to know why I almost died. But it was cool being able to show everybody those pictures and everything. I�ve truly been amazed at how God works. I've been SPEECHLESS. In fact, after several months of trying to figure out a name for my site (I wanted to use a Steven Curtis Chapman song) I decided that Speechless was the best thing to name it due to what had happened in the past year or so. I had heard other people's amazing stories of how God had done these amazing things in their lives. But I was the type of Christian that thought, �Oh that�ll never happen to me.� And I was totally wrong. God can do anything for anyone, anytime, anywhere. As it says in Steven's song, "This Day", "He wants us to see that the God that He's been every day of history is who He is this day." And for probably the first time, I began to realize that. I also began to realize how much I had taken for granted before. I had never really stopped to appreciate the fact that I was alive or not disabled. But last year I realized that it is TOTALLY a reason to praise God about! I could have been mentally slow or not in the physically not able to do some of the things I do now. Whoa, what would I do if I couldn't play soccer!?!? It's like Steven says in "Moment Made For Worshipping", "This is a moment made for worshipping. 'Cause this is a moment I'm alive." Well, I guess that's the end of my story. But first, I'd like to thank.... Our wonderful amazing God. You've shown me that you not only work in the lives of others, but also in my life. You are most certainly the same yesterday, today, and forever! Thanks to PB. Your story still amazes me every time I read or hear it. Thanks for sending the articles with your story in it to me too. And thanks so much for coming to pray for me for me 13 years ago. Who would have ever known it would have made THIS much of a difference!?! God is truly amazing. And thanks to several of our youth leaders at church for encouraging me to share my story with the youth during the Wednesday night youth service. I probably never would have done that if it wouldn't have been for you guys! |
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| PB preaching during chapel. 2002 Awana Scholarship Camp |
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| Me, one day old |
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| Another pic of PB preaching 2002 Awana Scholarship Camp |
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| PB preaching during chapel Awana Scholarship Camp 2003 |
| Another pic of PB preaching during chapel Awana Scholarship Camp 2003 |
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| PB and me! 2003 Awana Scholarship Camp |