Emma's Miracle: Proof in the Power of Prayer

By Joanna Feather

I KEPT SAYING, "JESUS, JESUS, JESUS," AND, INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE LIQUOR STORE, I LOOKED TO THE ONLY ONE THAT COULD CARRY ME THROUGH THIS PAIN. EMMA'S MIRACLE JOANNA FEATHER

December 9, 2022 changed my life forever. I was met by an officer at my home telling me my beautiful daughter, Emma, was in a serious car accident and I needed to get

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jan 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890410627

Joanna Feather

My name is Joanna Feather. I am a woman of God. I now look to Jesus for my peace and comfort versus alcohol. I published a book recently, Nurse Healer to Nurse Healed, which prefaces this miraculous story with my near-death experience. I live in Lapeer and have a mixed family of six children that all have encountered Emma's miracle. My love for the Lord is so strong that I want to shout it from the rooftops: He has done so much for me and my family!

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Night My Life Changed

It was such a normal evening. The only thing that was not so normal was my grandma’s death anniversary. I don’t get upset much about it anymore because I know where she is, and it was back when I was a teen. I never will forget the phone call I got that night. I thought that she sounded like she was in such distress, asking to speak to my parents. Of all times, they weren’t home, and they usually were. She was struggling. She said she would call my Uncle Danny, who lived down the driveway. Before I knew it, I went to his house to watch my cousin Kyle, and everyone was going to the hospital. Something bad happened, but I wouldn’t know what it was until later. I just knew I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I knew something bad was happening to her by how she talked to me. She ended up going to be with our Lord and Savior that night. This night was similar in some ways, but thankfully not entirely. It was just Jackson and I hanging out watching shows, laughing, and cuddling like always. I was in my snuggly pants and was cozy in my blanket, holding his sweet little hand. We had no plans for the night until we did.

Adrian decided to put in a little time in the woods for a last-minute hunt. He had not been hunting since Kansas and wanted to scope out some state land and get deep into the woods to nail a local monster. Olivia and Ava went uptown to get snacks because we would hang out.

Then there was Emma.

Emma Renee, my sixteen-year-old beauty. She sure was on fire that day. She was so beautiful. She shined earlier in the day, just so happy. She was in my bedroom earlier, asking to have some friends over the next day. She was talking to her sister Olivia and me about school and a boy she would tell she liked soon. She got a call from her bestie, who needed some love. Emma would try to make anyone feel better with her glowing face, beautiful smile, and kindness. So, of course, I was okay with bringing her back over so we could cheer her up.

I was excited because Emma was actually going to be home. She had not been home much the past few months and never wanted to be. She was very distant. She was not the same Emma that I knew. There were many things different about her. The way she was acting, the way she treated me. Well, the way she was with everyone. I wasn’t quite sure about what was going on, but I knew it was wrong. I knew my baby’s heart and that it was solid gold. I felt there were troubling things I couldn’t get through to her about. She didn’t want to let me. The gap in our relationship kept getting wider and wider in the months leading up to this day, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. She was grounded and had been for a month. I let her start doing just some things, and going to get her bestie was exciting for me. I knew it would make her happy, and it made me glad to know I had a part in some of her world.

Little did I know things would never be the same. Emma had started driving a few short months prior, and we had just purchased a Chrysler Sebring for her first vehicle. It was dependable, had few miles, and was owned by a mature college student. She was a very good driver, as I had driven with her many times for driver training. She knew not to go on her phone, drive the speed limit, and be careful on dirt roads. I wasn’t worried about her driving, except that she loved to change her songs on her phone before they ended, and I knew that would take her eyes off the road. So, we both talked about it and agreed she would put the songs in her queue before taking off.

I hadn’t noticed how long she was gone. I was zoned out watching SpongeBob. No brain cells were being used when I got a phone call from her sisters. They were worried about Emma; her bestie said she never arrived and wasn’t answering her phone. I had a small feeling in my stomach, but I reassured the girls and told them she probably stopped for gas. After some back-and-forth talk, the girls were starting to panic. They said they saw a bunch of ambulances and a firetruck go down our road. At that time, that feeling in the pit of my stomach got large. Almost simultaneously, I heard a knock at the door. That is when I felt completely numb and like my throat was closing.

The girls were still on Facetime with me. I told them to please stay on the phone as I looked out the side window and saw a cop car. My heart started beating so fast and hard in my chest, my breathing started feeling shallow, and I felt so sick. I trembled as I opened the door with Jackson right behind me. I opened it and yelled, Please tell me my baby is not dead! I find it crazy that I knew it was my Emmy, and I was ill for his response. He came in and said, No, she’s not dead, but she was in a serious car accident, and you need to get to the hospital immediately. I felt so panicked inside. I said, Okay, and I felt like a robot while trying to get my coat, and I think I hung up on the girls then. I looked at Jackson. I told the officer I had no one here to stay with him, so he said he would until someone came for him.

I looked straight into Jackson’s eyes and asked him if it was okay. He just nodded and said he always wanted to be a cop and that it was okay. I headed to my car, thinking. I felt so impaired and wasn’t sure how I would drive. Numb is the word. I was numb. My Purr was in an accident. One of the most important people in my world had been in a huge car accident just three houses down. My mind was racing. Who do I call? What do I do? I cried out to God. I prayed so hard that she was okay.

I got in my car and started the five-minute trek to McLaren Lapeer Hospital, not knowing what I would find. As I took a right down my driveway, I immediately saw red lights, lots of them, and knew my sweet baby’s car was in the midst of all the chaos. I had to take a quick right at the first road because ours was blocked off. I kept peering to my left, watching the lights and feeling numb. I turned left, and our street was now parallel. I saw a bunch of emergency vehicles there, and I just prayed to God. I cried out to Him. I asked Him to please be with my baby right now. I prayed for her to have healing. I prayed the emergency workers were doing His job. I somehow drove there on autopilot, which seemed like forever. The emergency lights faded as I made my turn to the hospital. How did I even know how to get there? I don’t know; I know I was shaking. As I pulled up to the emergency room that I had just been to several times for myself, I saw an open ambulance and a cop car, so I parked in the handicapped spot and ran out of the vehicle. The police officer somehow knew it was me. I sputtered, Please don’t give me a ticket, I am not handicapped, but my daughter was in a bad car accident. He said, Come on, let’s go in. I will get you to her, and don’t worry about the car. I felt like I was in a dream.

A few months ago, I had been waiting in that waiting room area because I was so ill. I remember watching a bunch of family members come in sobbing and having the same look I believe I had. Their family member had been in a car accident, and they just kept coming one by one running through the doors, trying to find their loved ones. The hurt and concern on their faces made me glad I was just there because I was sick. I thought, Wow, I hope I never get that call about a family member. But here I was, my sweetest Purr, my love. My daughter. Why my daughter? How could this even happen? I walked quickly by the police officers’ side, and they opened those ER doors; I had no idea what I would see. Nurses came out of the trauma bay, asking me if I was Emma’s mom. They wanted information. I gave them what I could, but I wanted to see my baby. At that same time, I had a major feeling of déjà vu. She was in the same trauma bay as my other daughter Olivia was just a year and a half prior from a near-fatal car accident. I remember how I felt about that accident. It was a little different. I was not in the same condition because I knew Olivia talked to Adrian after the accident. I held onto that piece of information on the way from West Branch to Lapeer. I was a travel nurse during that accident and received that news at the beginning of my shift. I prayed on my way to the hospital for Olivia, but I felt calm about it, like she was okay. I felt God’s presence and felt peace. I didn’t feel panic, and I didn’t feel numb. Now it was different.

Adrian called me. I answered and told him what was happening. He sounded so upset. He was trying to escape the woods but was deep in it. That was when they took me into my sweet Purr. She looked pretty good; she was intubated. She didn’t look in distress. Before I could get to her, an emergency doctor came to my side,