Mercy Abounds

 

Many of you by now have heard the amazing story of our own Mari-Lynn Quisenberry. Last Saturday morning (April 28) she was out jogging with her running group. During her run she collapsed and went into full cardiac arrest. Mari-Lynn is only 41 years old. I hope that we will soon get to hear her story directly from her and her husband Bart. But for now, let me give you the highlights.

Through a series of miraculous and merciful interventions, God has elected to spare her life. A very small portion of her running route took her near a busy road. This was where she collapsed. An off-duty paramedic happened to be driving by and saw her on the ground. He decided to stop and see if she needed help (boy, did she ever!). Meanwhile, two on-duty paramedics were coming out of the near-by grocery just as the first paramedic got on the scene. Her care was excellent and immediate. It has been a dangerous and dramatic several days. She is recovering wonderfully!

Jumping way ahead in the story: As it turns out, Mari-Lynn has a congenital, and unless discovered and corrected, often-fatal heart defect. It has (mercifully!) been discovered and will be corrected through surgery next week.

All of us who know and love this precious lady are humbly thanking God for heaping mercy upon mercy. We say over and over: God is love. We know this is true because the Bible tells us so. We know this is true because we see it displayed in others’ lives. We know this is true because we experience it in our own lives. And we experience God’s love as MERCY.

The writer in Hebrews tells us: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

There is no substitute for the mercy of God and there is no substitute for belonging, being connected to the believing community. When the church works, it is a wonderful thing to behold. Channel 5 News did a report on this incident and on the heroic off-duty paramedic who helped save Mari-Lynn’s life. You can view that report here:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Off-Duty-EMT-Helps-Save-Runners-Life?CMP=201205_emailshare