TRUST IN GOD by Paula Gardner-Porter @LadyPorter Faith, hope, prayerfulness. These three words describe the years that Jimmy and Aquanetta Smith lived through the challenges that could have claimed the life of a loving husband and father. Their story is one of trust and divine intervention. Jimmy and Aquanetta were interrupted by one health challenge after another. While Jimmy was preparing to have half of a cancerous kidney removed, the couple received disturbing news that the cancer had not only damaged the whole kidney but had spread to the other kidney as well. Facing the inevitability of a life on dialysis and a five-year wait before being considered for the transplant list, Jimmy then discovered that he had a blockage in his heart and needed to have a double-bypass before his kidneys could be removed. In 2005, Jimmy endured two surgeries within a matter of three months, but he recovered, with his wife close by his side. Aquanetta still believed that God was going to turn things around for her husband. By the grace of God, Jimmy recovered and was diagnosed cancer-free, so he was finally placed on the transplant list to receive a new kidney in 2010. However, the doctors soon found more complications with his heart; so instead of getting a new kidney, he received stents in his legs. Jimmy was added to and removed from the kidney transplant list several times after that. Throughout this journey, the couple declared that they would trust God and continue to praise Him for grace and healing. On October 4, 2016, their lives would change forever. God was moving behind the scenes. With hopeful hearts and a stack of bills, Jimmy and Aquanetta arrived early to attend the Black Out service at Mount Zion. They knew that something about that night was different. Looking back, they know now that they were right! While they waited for the service to begin, Aquanetta prepared for a mandatory critical illness presentation that she was less than thrilled to do. Little did she know that her research would lead her to discover thousands of dollars in enrollment benefits for Jimmy. And the next evening, the couple received a call to inform them that a kidney had suddenly become available for Jimmy. Although this had been the third time that they had received this call, something felt right. They remembered that God was faithful to His Word, and they would not believe man’s report. Aquanetta admits to feeling a little discouraged the night before the surgery, but as a loving Father, God directed her to see two church members at the hospital. Alametric and LaShae, who were often seen waving banners and flags during praise and worship each Sunday morning, took time to encourage Aquanetta and to pray with her. They even stood nearby praying when the new kidney arrived by helicopter. Jimmy received his transplant the next morning, and his surgery was paid for in full. After 11 years of dialysis and health challenges, Jimmy is in recovery and is doing better than the doctors expected he would. God is faithful to His Word. “We are now trusting and believing that God will restore all of those years and that our latter days will be greater than our former.”––Jimmy and Aquanetta Smith - the Mt Zion family that I ran into that prayed with me. Jimmy and Mr. Arnold. Received their kidneys on the same day from the same donor. Before the operation Going home
20015CG
To see the actual publication please follow the link above