Saved in Time to Share Message from God

“I do have a memory of, Tim and Josh standing in front of me and Tim said, 'Christa, you have to go to the hospital.' I started to protest, but Josh said, ‘Yes Mom, you have to go.'”

It had been three years since Christa Grant noticed a decline in her memory and energy levels. The now 62-year-old teacher just shrugged it off as 'old age'. “I realized something was going on, and I thought perhaps I was getting early dementia. I did not know what else to think,” Christa recalls.

At the start of 2021, more normal day to day activities became a challenge for Christa. “I would get in my car to go somewhere and I couldn't remember where I was going. I was struggling with learning something new for the online classes. When I would talk to anyone I would get to the last word of the sentence and it wasn't there. I was having great difficulty,” says Christa.

That spring, while at home with her mother, it was clear something more was going on. Christa recalls what she could remember of that day. “It was starting to affect my vision. I just couldn't get up and do anything. I didn't eat. I didn't drink. I didn't even get up to use the restroom.”

Christa's husband, Tim, shares, “Well, I was concerned about it because she was sitting there beside me obviously not really comprehending anything I was saying. Thinking right off the bat that she had a stroke, we got her up and got her in the car and took her.”

Once in the ER doctors sent her for a cat scan. It wasn’t a stroke. It was a brain tumor that could rupture at any moment and needed to be removed immediately. Since the small hospital didn’t have the resources to perform the emergency surgery, Christa had to be taken to the Dallas Baylor Scott and White Hospital’s trauma center. While in the helicopter, Christa remembers, “That was the first time I prayed. I was saying, 'Your will. Your will, God. Whatever Your will is, let it be done.'" 

Her husband Tim also prayed as Christa was taken to Dallas. “I'm praying for the healing, but I’m also trying to prepare to deal with the issues." 

At the trauma center, doctors found that Christa’s brain was swelling. Surgery would have to wait until medication could reduce the pressure caused by the tumor. 
Christa’s family had arrived and were praying for God’s healing. By the next day… “It had taken the swelling down enough that I seemed back to my normal self,” says Christa.

Tim says, “They set the surgery. And again, you just rolled along with it, praying, God, would you heal her, please?"

Doctors said the surgery could go either way. While the tumor wasn’t cancerous, the cat scan revealed that it was entangled in the blood vessels around her brain, making removal that much more difficult. The surgery would take up to 10 hours. Worse, even the successful removal of the tumor could leave Christa impaired for life.

Christa shares what the doctors did warn her about ahead of the surgery. “'You may have to relearn to do everything – eat, drink, you know, talk, read, use the bathroom.' I mean, they meant everything," she recalls.

On May 10th, with everyone she knew praying, Christa went in for surgery. Two and a half hours later, they brought her out of the OR. The tumor had been easier to remove than anticipated. 

Christa’s family waited for her to wake up, and prayed she suffered no brain damage. Just a few hours after surgery Christa woke up… “I woke up talking.”

Tim rejoices in the moment. “That's a good sign. So, you're already thanking the Lord for that.”

Touched by the healing power of God, Christa wasn’t in any pain and her brain was functioning well. In fact, she was… “Walking, talking, praising God.”

“She was already talking more than I'd seen in the last number of months,” says Tim.

Not only was Christa healed quickly, she also had a heavenly vision to share with her family. “I saw the Son, Jesus. And He took me to the foot of the cross. I asked Jesus, 'Why is there so much hurting in the world?' There was a black box and He said that represents all the ways that Christians are limiting Him. It represents our lack of faith and He can't do what He really can do because of our lack of faith.' Jesus asked me only one question, 'Will you tell the world?' And then I said, 'Yes, I will. I will.'"

Less than a week after surgery, and with no rehab, no cognitive issues, and no physical impairment, Christa was released from the hospital. She and her family credit God and prayer for her healing. “The power of prayer is knowing and believing that God is hearing you and He is going to meet your need, whatever that might be. There’re just not enough examples of how God works through people that pray and believe and trust Him,” says Tim.

Christa exults. “Look what the Lord has done. He healed my body. He touched my mind. He saved me just in time. Now, I have the overwhelming, supernatural love of Jesus that cannot be contained.”

Today, Christa is back to her daily activities, teaching her students, and fulfilling her promise by telling everyone about the loving and healing power of God! “I'm telling people that God can heal the sick. If I see someone the Lord leads me to, to pray for, I'm praying for them. I love doing it now. I truly love it. I’ve told people I have a new definition of fun, because it's exciting. It’s exciting to share Jesus.”