A Testimony: How a Setback Turned into a Come Back

Marilyn reached one milestone after another during her recovery. “I said, ‘Lord, I know there’s something you want me to do …’ “

On Miracle Sunday at the House of Faith Christian Center in Smyrna, Tennessee, Minister Marilyn “Janet” Brown shared with the congregation how the Lord “brought me from the pit of death.”  

Here is her story:

Marilyn traveled to Rome, Georgia last November for a Thanksgiving celebration with siblings, grandchildren, great grands, and other relatives willing to make the trek. Weeks earlier, many of the same relatives had joined her in Nashville to help celebrate her 80^th birthday.

The multiple-day festivities in Georgia were hosted by her grandson and his family who planned a lavish meal on Thanksgiving Day and a movie, more eating and dessert at a local ice cream shop the day after.

Late that Friday, Marilyn, who in her youth had been the life of the party at family gatherings, was exhausted and returned to an Air B&B she had rented. After changing clothes and getting prepared to watch television and relax, she stumbled and fell into a chair.  Hours later when she woke, Marilyn realized she had suffered a stroke. Years of working as a nurse had taught her the signs.

In the quiet of the room, she asked, “Lord, am I dying?” When there was no response, she determined that she would fight to live.

However, Marilyn had not told anyone where she was staying, and she couldn’t find her cellphone. Knowing where the phone was would not have helped anyway because she could barely move.

Since she was scheduled to leave the rental on Saturday, she had no choice but to wait until the cleaning staff or owner came to see if she had checked out.

Marilyn shared that God told her during this ordeal, “You’ve been living on My faith. You need to live on your faith from here on.”

As expected, the owner discovered Marilyn lying on the floor of the Air B&B Saturday and called an ambulance and her family.

“In the hospital, I had peace,” she told the House of Faith members who listened with rapt attention and encouraged her with shouts of “Amen!”

“I couldn’t describe it. God told me: ‘You don’t have to struggle; you don’t have to fight.’ He is sufficient and He’s always there.”

Doctors told Marilyn that patients typically “don’t make it” when they don’t get care for eight hours after a massive stroke like she had. Instead, Marilyn said “I had so much favor in the hospital.”

People from the church, relatives, friends and even strangers prayed for her recovery. Her favor came in small, medium, large, and gigantic packages. When her insurance refused to pay for a wheelchair once she was discharged from the hospital, the Rehab Center that helped get her mobile again searched around until they found a wheelchair for her. When other assistance fell through, the Holy Spirit guided her in ways to help and support herself.

Her brother, House of Faith Pastor Ronnie D. Simmons and his wife, Terrie, would visit and anoint her body.

“He [God] was just taking care of me. I didn’t have to worry about anything,” she exclaimed.

Marilyn reached one milestone after another in her recovery.

“I said ‘Lord, I know there’s something you want me to do; you have me here for a reason. I’m going to do the best that I can do,’” she said quietly.

Besides working years as a nurse, Marilyn also worked as a missionary in Haiti and the Congo. She joined the House of Faith Christian Center in its evangelism effort when she returned to the United States.

Marilyn said she had accumulated 101 scriptures. But she agreed to share only a few with the House of Faith members.

Isaiah 53: 5 NKJV: But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

I Peter 2:24: who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

Mark 16: 15-18: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Luke 10:19: Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Matthew 18:18: Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Marilyn ended her message by having the entire congregation repeat Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

A few days before sharing her testimony at the House of Faith, Marilyn talked with Women of the Word about her ordeal and how she survived with the Lord’s help.

Q: What should people “learn” from your experience?

Marilyn: That through His grace, that’s the answer to everything. His grace is sufficient. When I realized what had happened to me (the day of the stroke), He let me know that He was right there and that He would take care of everything. We think we are self-sufficient; we can’t even breathe on our own. There is nothing we can do without His help. And if there is anything I learned from that, I learned that He’s going to take care of me. He’s been taking care of me all this time. When I think I’m big and bad and made this decision and that, He says “No, no, no.” From the beginning of time, He’s had a plan for me.

Americans often think that when everything is going just cool, no problem, He’s working. But when we get a challenge, [we think] there’s a problem. We are righteous from the day we accept Jesus. He’s taking care of us.

We are selfish beings; we were all born into sin. That’s why Jesus and all the prophets in the Bible preached “love, love, love” because loving your enemies, you can’t do it by yourself. You have to pray to Him to teach you that love. That’s why believers have the Holy Spirit within them. 

Q: What should people “know about you” based on your experience?

Marilyn: They should know that I thought I knew most things, especially about God. But He’s teaching me who He is, what He wants.  I don’t have to be anxious about anything.

Before the stroke, I was saying ‘Oh I got to do this; Oh, I got to have that.’ But now I lean on Him, knowing he will give me the ability to accomplish anything. He’s going to provide me with what I need.

I’ve learned it’s not my brain that’s carrying me; it’s His grace that is carrying me.

Q: What should people “appreciate about God” based on your experience?

Marilyn: That He is always there, and His grace is sufficient. He’s given Jesus to us as an example of how we are to act. Jesus was not anxious at any time. He faced all kinds of obstacles. But He had a realization of His father, of what His father was willing to do, not only for Him but for mankind.

Written by TMCH