Rejoice in the Lord Always: The Jeff Hillman Story

By Bill Conger

Seven-year-old Jeff Hillman loved to skateboard, make mischief, and fish. But everything changed the day he contracted a mysterious illness called Reyes syndrome.

In this insightful glimpse into the life of a young man who died and then returned to tell about itwho encountered angels and experienced dramatic healingyou can see that God is still a God of miracles. He not only sees us in our struggles; He meets us in them.

Witness the power of faith as Jeff and his family choose to focus not on the hardship of the moment but on Gods ability to love them through it. Rejoice in the Lord with them as they learn that joy and peace come with believing that God is using all of lifes twists and turns to accomplish purposes far beyond our understanding. Jesus Christ can provide just what we need to live not as victims, but as victors. But will we, like Jeff Hillman, choose to trust in Him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490802572

Bill Conger

Bill Conger is a freelance writer who has penned articles for publications and websites including American Songwriter, CMT.com, VH-1.com, GACTV.com, Bluegrass Unlimited, Homecoming, Fostering Families, and ParentLife. He was also a feature producer of country music entertainment segments for shows on the former TNN and Country Music Television. He was a reporter and anchor for WSM AM and a news reporter for local stations in the Middle Tennessee area. Bill lives in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, with his wife, Alyssa, and son, Gavin Conger. He is a school counselor at DeKalb West School and voiceover professional.

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Copyright © 2013 Jeffrey Thomas Hillman.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture passages marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Edited by Bethany McShurley of Faith-Based Editorial Services

http://faithbasededitorial.com/

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0258-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0259-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0257-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013913086

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/7/2013

Contents

Part One

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

 10 

 11 

 12 

 13 

Part Two

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

Part Three

 18 

 19 

 20 

 21 

 22 

 23 

 24 

To Mom and Dad.

You are my best friends.

Love, Jeff

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4–7

Foreword

by Bill Conger

When I met Jeff’s father, Ralph Hillman, some years ago, I viewed miracles with a skeptic’s eye. I always looked for some plausible, scientific explanation for why people sometimes experience healing against the odds. What is the real story behind apparent divine interventions that seem to defy reason? Though I identified myself as a Christian, I was not so sure that the hand of God was a real force at work in the world. I was not one hundred percent certain that I could trust the Bible’s account of the miraculous—though not doing so was considered blasphemy in my congregation. But it was even more difficult to embrace a supposed modern-day miracle. Instead, I wanted hard evidence that the Lord really does involve Himself in the lives of humanity. And since I had never seen such evidence personally, I always approached cynically any account of healing or biographical tale of God’s hand at work within an individual’s life.

When I first heard a brief summary of the story shared within this book, I listened and digested the information with my usual skepticism. Ralph, who was a huge witness to his Christian faith during my college days, introduced his son, Jeff, to me first via a videotaped story he played for my Fundamentals of Public Speaking class at Middle Tennessee State University. Ralph is a communications professor and speech coach.

Jeff had nearly died in childhood, claimed to have seen an angel during an out-of-body experience, and had far surpassed medical expectations that doomed him to live in a vegetative state. While the young man still faced many challenges, he was—as my professor pointed out—choosing to live by faith that God could and would continue to heal him. But while Ralph was focused on the Lord’s limitless power and the string of miracles already at work in his son’s life, I—as an aspiring journalist—was caught up in the sad irony of the situation. My professor, who spends his life helping others to communicate clearly, is helpless to correct his beloved son’s speech impediment. The tragedy of that stuck with me, and in time I discovered that rather than avoiding Dr. Hillman and his charismatic faith, I found myself drawn to him. I came to see Ralph as a father figure and mentor.

In the coming months I heard more about Jeff’s story and the Hillman family. In the face of their deep faith and Jeff’s generally sunny disposition in spite of his challenges, my beliefs began to transform. Skepticism and a bent toward legalism began to give way to acceptance of God’s grace and power to interact in our lives. It began to soften my heart towards the Lord. In short, my involvement with Jeff and his story became a tangible example of how God can work through His servants and the details of their lives to bring about real change in others.

Jeff’s biography is an amazing testament to the Hillmans’ faith and love for Jesus Christ. If you, like me, are a Doubting Thomas tempted to merely scan over this story and then shrug it off, please determine to give it a fair and thorough read. See it as the inspirational story of a family who survived a horrific crisis with their remarkable belief system not only intact but stronger. I encourage you to suspend skepticism and to embrace the possibility that God is not an immortal couch potato, observing His creations and not caring about their fates. Instead, He is a loving, moving force at work in today’s world. He will reach down and uplift us through His love, redeeming us and providing for us on life’s journey if only we will ask and believe.

May God bless you and open your heart as you read Jeff’s story. I pray it will stir your soul as radically as it did mine.

Acknowledgments

We, Ralph and Sue Hillman, would first like to express our thanksgiving to God for both our son Jeff and for the beautiful works the Lord has accomplished through his life. God, You are great and nothing is impossible for You! We will continue to give You praise in all things.

Huge thanks also belong to Bill Conger. This book was first your dream, Bill, and we are so grateful for this opportunity to tell Jeff’s story. We sincerely appreciate that you listened, that you took piles of notes, and that you compiled a novel we are proud to share.

Gratitude also extends to our editor, Bethany McShurley. The book would not be what it is without your extraordinary work. We are so thankful for your walk with the Lord and your devotion to Jeff and our family. Thanks, too, for sending us Juliana Duncan. She has a keen eye for detail.

Rufus Walsh, thank you for the book’s cover. We will always regard it with awe, deeply pleased that you used your incredible talent to provide the illustration while taking care to highlight Jeff’s favorite activity, fishing.

To every family member and friend who prayed for us, fed us, and literally took care of us during those first dark days of Jeff’s diagnosis, you know who you are. We were so blessed by your love and deeply appreciate your friendship! Thank you for your unending support.

To the doctors and nurses and therapists at Vanderbilt Hospital who worked so hard to keep Jeff breathing and safe, please accept our family’s gratitude. You each mean so much to us.

And finally, deepest thanks go to Andy and Kristin. Without your love for your brother, Jeff, he would not be the man he is today. Our family is so blessed to have both of you in it! We love you dearly.

Part One

1

The Lord called Me from the womb;

From the body of My mother He named Me.

Isaiah 49:1, NASB

Bellefonte Hospital 1969

W hat a rush! What a blessing from God! What a beautiful baby! These were the words with which my dad, Ralph Hillman, welcomed me into the world.

I was born just after Christmas. It was December 31, and I debuted via C-section. My mother prayed over the matter of what to call me before giving me the name, Jeffrey Thomas Hillman. I weighed eight pounds and one ounce, and I was twenty-one inches long. While some in that Pennsylvania hospital probably chalked me up as just another average arrival, I was a miracle to my parents.

When my mother had difficulty conceiving, they adopted my big brother, Andy. They expected all of the growth in their household would happen by similar means. But God had other plans. At Mom’s announcement that she was pregnant, she and Dad were euphoric. I was the long-awaited answer to their prayers.

You are my precious bundle of joy, Dad whispered in my ear as he walked me to the nursery, and I am almost certain I remember the feel of his warm, happy tears raining down on my little red face.

He could not know then that my entire life would be marked by miracles.

2

I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your … mother …, and I am sure that it is in you as well.

2 Timothy 1:5, NASB

M y earliest years were as pleasant and uneventful as those of many typical American men my age. One of the best advantages to growing up in the Hillman household, however, was that from early on I got to know Jesus Christ as a very real, very important Person. Learning Scripture verses like First John 4:8, God is love, and songs such as Jesus Loves the Little Children was a central part of my upbringing. For that reason, Mom would claim that none of her children ever had an aha! moment when it came to accepting the Lord. He was always a part of our lives, and we talked to Him in prayer, about Him in family discussions, and generally sought to live our lives by His Word, the Bible.

When I was a small boy I did not yet understand much of what the Bible teaches about Jesus, but because He is so central to my story, I would like to tell a little more about Him here. When I was a child much of my teaching came from Sunday School. Larry Sizemore, the class leader, had a green alligator puppet named Allee. Mr. Sizemore used that cloth and felt creature to tell me a lot about Jesus’ love and promises. The story of Jesus Christ starts in the first book of the Bible.

Genesis 1 explains that in the beginning God created the world and everything in it, including Adam and Eve. All that this first couple needed was provided by the Lord. The world was perfect. There was no death. No sickness. Literally everything