Raised from the Dead
Sarah Lyn, Kota Kinabalu, August 2002
By Dr. Philip Lyn
This is an incredible story that took place in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia in August 2002. It's a story of God raising a 4 year old child from the dead and restoring her sight twelve hours later, after she was found hanging lifeless from a rope. It's a testimony to the fact that miracles happen today.
God Warns Us
August 26th 2002. This was the day the Lyn family changed. At morning breakfast devotion, we read Psalms 114-118 together as a family. Independently God dropped the words of Ps 118:17 into Nancy's (my wife's) heart and mine. It reads: "I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord".
We did not communicate this simultaneous impression we received from the Lord at the time but it was to prove a critical verse for prying open the doors of faith for us later in the day. Later in the morning, Frances my daughter, rang me with the delightful news that she had scored an A with distinction in one of her O level (high school public exams) papers she had sat for a couple of months back. So the day began well.
The Death Call
At 3.50pm, I was in my clinic and received an urgent call from my son, Andrew who virtually shrieked into the phone "Dad! Dad! Come quick, Sarah's dying! She's dying!" Sarah was our four-year old daughter. After quickly ascertaining from him where he was, I flew out of the clinic and drove with my nurse to the house of the violin teacher, Frieda. It took us a whole fifteen minutes to get there. When I arrived, I saw Sarah lying unconscious on the grass at the back of the house, a dark (rope) mark round her neck. Her face was bluish and she had dark spots round her eyes (petechiae, for those medically initiated). The rest of her body was pale. I touched the body. It was bathed in cold sweat despite the hot sun. She was barely breathing. There was a weak pulse and audible heartbeat. I could see the spirit of death upon her. Frieda was praying and crying tearfully aloud to God asking Him to save Sarah, heal her and revive her. "Jesus, Lord, please God" were common words on her lips.
Apparently Frieda had discovered Sarah lifeless and hanging from her neck by a nylon clothes line rope at the back of the house around 3.45pm. When brought down, Sarah's face was "blue/black", she was motionless, with no breath nor pulse nor heartbeat. She was dead (Please see Frieda's testimony in the Skyline website).
After crying to the Lord for what seemed a long time and after making a few incorrect and feeble attempts at CPR, Sarah's breath returned... more by God's mercy than anything else. It certainly wasn't her atrociously inadequate CPR as Frieda would testify. By then Sarah had probably exceeded the critical period of permanent brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
Cursing The Spirit Of Death
On my arrival, I was deeply shocked to see my beloved daughter in such a perilous state... her life hanging by a thread, her breath barely perceptible. For a moment, every cell in my brain wanted me to throw myself on her and weep. At almost the same instance it dawned on me that this was a demonic attack from the pits of hell.
An interchurch citywide prayer conference I was due to chair and lead was only two days away. This was scheduled to culminate in a major "Merdeka" (Independence Day) rally for the whole city three days later.
Now my Sarah was in the grips of a life-death struggle! The timing of this attack was overtly demonic. This was no mere "coincidence". It was timed to stop the rally from going ahead. I shouted to Sarah: "You shall live, you shall not die! Jesus heals you and gives you life!" Then I cursed the spirit of death, scooped her into my arms and ran for the car. As I did so, I suddenly realized that Sarah had probably suffered massive irreparable brain damage. I noticed her limbs were in what doctors call the "decorticate position": neck arched, limbs extended rigidly, eyeballs rolled up: meaning the higher intellectual of her brain had probably been destroyed and it was only the lower part of her brain that was keeping her alive. This was an ominous sign that I had a potential "vegetable" on my hand. Richard, Frieda's husband offered to drive us to the hospital, which he mercifully did with remarkable calm and speed. All along the seemingly unending journey to the Medical Center, I prayed in tongues crying out to God for Sarah's life and speaking words of endearment to her. She was in a coma and totally unresponsive.
A Two Pronged Attack
Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the hospital to find that one of my church elders was there at the X-ray department having sustained a fractured shoulder blade at precisely the same time as Sarah was found hanging from a rope! Coincidence? No, demonic. It was another instance confirming that this whole episode was a spiritual attack. I had rung one of my medical colleagues and he was waiting in the emergency room when I carried Sarah's frail body in. Oxygen was given. A drip was set up. Shortly afterwards Nancy arrived. An emergency CT scan of Sarah's neck mercifully did not reveal any dislocation. As Nancy and I waited in the darkened CT room for her scan results we squeezed each other's hands and whispered the words the Lord had given us that morning. They were now a promise of floodtide proportions to us: "I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord!" Sarah was still in a coma. But even at that stage we believed by faith that God would restore her to us whole. There was now little else that could be done except to pray and she was sent up to the ward for intensive observation.
Prayer And The Turning Of The Tide
Friends, church members, church leaders and pastors started pouring in to visit. The news had spread like wildfire. Many looked stunned, few knew what to say. They saw the pain on our faces and wept with us. We managed to thank everyone who came and asked them to pray. Many did, forming spontaneous prayer groups outside the ward and in the visitors' area, holding hands and praying fervently. Many came and prayed over Sarah in her bed including a whole group of children (her friends) who came to lay hands on her. Pastors from other churches dropped by to comfort us and pray for Sarah. This helped to grow our faith so much. Every time a wave of sustained prayer arose, Sarah stirred. It was an incredible sight to behold and testified to the power of prayer. The rest of the family came to visit later including my mum and dad who were visiting us and staying with us.
For Frances and Andrew, they were both devastated but we told them to pray in faith with us at this critical time. They cried. Nancy had her head on the bed the whole time, crying to the Lord as she held Sarah's still hand, pleading silently with tears, except for an hour when she went home to collect some personal items.
How Did It Happen?
At no time did we lay the blame at anyone's feet. To us it was obviously a spiritual attack from hell. We found out later that the spare length of rope with a noose had been carelessly left hanging from the clothes-line by Frieda's maid for quite some time before the incident. Nobody realized its implication or its potential implicit attraction to children. But in addition the maid had left a permanent stool in place for her daily washing basket below the noosed rope. We think Sarah, being a gung-ho and active "try-anything-once" type of child would have found away to stand on the stool, experiment with the rope even to the point of placing her neck in the noose and possibly panicked and accidentally kicked the stool away and strangled herself.
If not for little Madeline, Frieda's 3-year-old daughter who had been playing with Sarah and had witnessed the whole incident, Sarah would not have been discovered until much much later. Frieda recounts that she was in her living room teaching my son Andrew the violin and Madeline had come in to her and said: "Sarah.. got string" and she had shooed Madeline away thinking she was just making a nuisance of herself. Madeline had gone out to the back and a while later returned with the same insistent message: "Sarah got string.. come.." and had yanked her mother's hand. It was only then that Frieda went out to discover the horrible sight of a 4 year old suspended from the clothes' line one and a half feet above the ground. We estimated conservatively that the time it took for Sarah to be "discovered" from the time she was strangulated to be around 4-5 minutes plus another minute or so before she breathed again. This adds up to a total of possibly 5-6 minutes of total oxygen deprivation in the hot sun.
Medically this leads to death or irreversible brain damage. So even if Sarah were to live all indications were that she would probably be a "vegetable" for the rest of her life.
Alive But Blind Forever
By midnight, the number of visitors had reduced to a trickle. All over the city, prayer chains were in action. In many churches all over the country and overseas intercession was made. We knew by then that Sarah would live but she had shown no indication of recovery of her intellectual functions. She had awoken briefly at 10pm but had not recognized anyone. Then at midnight, quite suddenly, she opened her eyes, gazed around vacantly and said her first words "mummy". We were overjoyed. Nancy hugged her and soothed her but her stare remained vacant.
When asked to "kiss mummy" she had to feel around for Nancy's face before pulling her cheek towards her lips. In that awful moment I realized she was blind. She continued to stare vacantly at me. I pretended to hit her face with my hand, stopping short by an inch. She didn't blink.
Oxygen deprivation had probably permanently damaged the visual cortex of her brain, giving rise to "cortical blindness", an irreversible condition. Pastor Lam, our dear friend remained behind with us to pray through the night. At 2 a.m. Sarah woke again. I un-strapped my watch and moved it across her field of vision. She was totally unaware of its presence. She was still blind. All hopes I had of recovery of her sight virtually evaporated that moment. Only God could restore her sight.
The Miracle At Dawn
By 3 am I retired to sleep in an adjacent bed. Nancy and Pastor Lam continued to intercede for Sarah. In those few minutes of sleep God gave me a dream of her. I saw Sarah awake, holding up her hands and counting her fingers saying: "See daddy, 1,2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10... 11!" as she began recounting again. I awoke excited only to realize it was all a dream. Within a few minutes however an incredible sequence of events unfolded in rapid succession.
Sarah awoke at precisely 3.45 am, twelve hours after being found lifeless on the rope. She was alert now and after asking to pee, she pointed to a clock on the wall and said: "Daddy, it's nine o'clock. I can see a clock!" She could see! I pointed to her it was only four o'clock and not nine. "Four?" she asked and then held up her hands in exactly the same way I had seen in my dream and counted: "1,2,3,4, then she continued 5,6,7,8,9,10,11!!" I broke down and wept.
In that one moment in time God restored the sight of my girl and with it restored her memory and her linguistic ability and mathematical skills. She read a book with us and conversed animatedly.
The she sang a beautiful song:
"Jesus loves me this I know" among a couple of other songs. It was a sacred moment that brought tears to our eyes. Pastor Lam stole out of the room to leave us alone. He later told us he felt like an intruder and went down to the hospital car park to worship and thank God in the dark and to weep in gratitude. Such was the love of this friend.
Because The Lord Loves You...
At the same time Sarah woke healed, another pastor was awoken from his sleep. Pastor Arthur sensed the Lord telling him to drive to the hospital some 15 Km away to see us at 4 o'clock in the morning! As he drove the Lord gave him a word for us: Deut 23:5 "the Lord your God has turned your curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. "When he walked into our darkened room with dimmed lights and saw that Sarah was healed, he broke down in tears. Such was the awesome presence of God in the room.
The timing of his visit left him in no doubt that God had broken through in Sarah's life. He then shared Deut 23:5 with me. Together we prayed and offered thanksgiving to God. Nancy went back to sleep with Sarah. Daybreak found the three of us: Pastor Lam, Pastor Arthur and I on our knees weeping with thanksgiving in the visitors' area. Later as I walked back into Sarah's room, I realized there were angels there. I nodded in appreciation and whispered a word of thanks.
Then I walked out to make phone calls to a waking world with the good news that Sarah had been healed.
To God be the glory!
Epilogue:
Sarah woke up at 3.45 am on her fourth birthday 27 August 2002. She was discharged by lunchtime the same day. Today she is a bubbly, bright and beautiful four-year old girl. Her intellectual and physical faculties remain completely intact. She has little memory of the event and has virtually no scar from the ordeal save for a faint and fast fading rope mark round her neck that is barely visible today.
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.
To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.
The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving.
They were tired and dull, but alive.
Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.
So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.
Moral of the story :
Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired & dull, so we need a Shark in our life to keep us awake and moving? Basically in our lives Sharks are new challenges to keep us active and taste better...
The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a challenge. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are a Conqueror. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions.
"Don't be afraid of pressures. Remember that Pressure is what turns a lump of coal into a diamond"
When Lord made man, the body parts get together and argued; "Who will be the
boss of the body?"
The stomach countered,"Since I digested the food, I must be the boss."
The brain said,"Since I am controlling the body parts, I must be the boss."
The eyes explained, "Since I can see the environment I must be the boss."
The legs countered,"Since I take the body to whereever it needs, I must be
the boss."
Then the arsehole added, "Since I let the body feel good by taking out
everything not needed, I must be the boss.
The body parts laughed and laughed at the arsehole. The arsehole got crazy
and shut up;
Three days later the body parts began to get sick since the arsehole hadn't
let anything out.
The brain got foggy, the legs wobbled, the eyes got crossed' & the stomach
got sick.
Then the body parts get together and agreed to make the arsehole boss!
Here is a story of a near divorce that will serve as a good warning and inspiration for
those who are married.... Not married.... and soon to be married.....
When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.
Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce.. I raised the topic calmly.
She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.
She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.
When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce.
She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.
This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.
She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.
I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions.. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully..
My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time.. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.
On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.
Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.
Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.
But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.
I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.
She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.
Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.
At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card.. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.
That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.
The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank, blah..blah.. blah. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!
If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.
If you do, you just might save a marriage.
Jim died.
His will provided $40,000 for an elaborate funeral.
As the last guests departed the affair, his wife Sharon turned to her oldest and dearest friend. 'Well, I'm sure Jim would be pleased,' she said.
'I'm sure you're right,' replied Brenda, who lowered her voice and leaned in close. 'How much did this really cost?'
'All of it,' said Sharon . 'Forty thousand.'
'No!' Brenda exclaimed. 'I mean, it was very nice, but $40,000?'
Sharon answered, 'The funeral was $6,500. I donated $500 to church. The whiskey, wine and snacks were another $500. The rest went for the Memorial Stone.'
Brenda computed quickly. '$32,500 for a Memorial Stone?
How big is it...?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 57 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.
He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands.
He knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on. Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.
Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak.
Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones, dropped them in her basket.. hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.
She saw me watching her and she smiled. 'My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know.'
I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.
'My husband passed away eight days ago,' I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice.
'Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together.'
She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.
I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice-cream cone.
I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front. I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile! I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine.
As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes. 'These are for you,' she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. 'When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for.' She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision.
I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone.
Oh, you haven't forgotten me, have you? I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.
Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are. (Please read all of this, it is really nice)
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings.
Thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible.
Thank you, Lord , that I can see. Many are blind.
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising.
Thank you, Lord,that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned, tempers are short, and my children are so loud.
Thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the picture in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced.
Thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.
Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous.
Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.
Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest.
Thank you, Lord, for life.
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but
shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but
have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller
families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less
sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems;
more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little,
drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too
little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too
much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to
life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but
have trouble crossing the street (or corridor) to meet a new neighbor. We
conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not
better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom,
but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but
accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more
computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we
communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small
character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of
two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses, but broken homes. These are
days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night
stands, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a
time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.
Give time to love, give time to speak. And give time to share the precious
thoughts in your mind.
If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say
that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.
- George Carlin
**
