Jesus Is Always With Us: My Story of God's Peace in the Middle of Fear

On February 22, 2021, my life changed in a matter of hours.

That evening, I experienced three seizures. They were completely unexpected and incredibly traumatic.

I had experienced seizures as a child, but I had been seizure-free and medication-free for 27 years. I never imagined they would return.

Earlier that day, I had a headache that wouldn't go away. Around 8:00 p.m., I began feeling sick, so I called my husband, Jim, into the room.

By the time he reached me, I was having a seizure and was completely unresponsive.

Later, Jim told me that my breathing became so shallow he wasn't sure if I was breathing at all, so he immediately called 911.

When I finally regained consciousness, he explained everything that had happened. My heart sank. After being seizure-free for so many years, I couldn't believe this was happening again.

The paramedics and police officers checked me over, and surprisingly, all of my vital signs were normal. They left, and we tried to get some sleep.

A few hours later, around midnight, I woke Jim because I felt another seizure coming.

Before he could even reach my side of the bed, I was unresponsive again.

He called 911 for the second time that night.

Once again, my vital signs were normal, but this time they strongly recommended that we go to the emergency room to make sure nothing more serious was happening.

Jesus Was Right Beside Me

If you've never had a seizure, it's difficult to explain the confusion that follows.

When you regain consciousness, everything feels foggy. You don't remember much of what happened, and it's hard to make sense of what's going on around you.

As I lay there in my bedroom surrounded by strangers—paramedics, police officers, and medical personnel—I felt overwhelmed, confused, and afraid.

And then...

God spoke.

Not with an audible voice, but clearly enough that there was no doubt in my mind.

He said,

"I'm right here beside you."

And He was.

Jesus was sitting right beside me.

My room filled with a brightness unlike anything I've ever experienced. Words can't adequately describe it.

It was peace.

It was joy.

It was Jesus.

He was wearing a white robe, and His presence radiated a beauty that is impossible to explain. I only saw Him from behind. He had shoulder-length dark hair, and the peace that flooded my heart was unlike anything I've ever known.

In that moment, I knew everything was going to be okay.

Not because I understood what was happening...

But because I knew He was with me.

"Where Is Your Praise?"

At the hospital, doctors began running tests while Jim and I waited for answers.

As we sat in the emergency room waiting for the results, I started praying.

If I'm honest, it wasn't my best prayer.

It was more of a "Why me, God?" prayer.

I was discouraged.

Confused.

Afraid.

Then God gently asked me one simple question:

"Where is your praise?"

Those words immediately took me back to a sermon one of our pastors had preached. He had shared how God had spoken those very same words to him during a difficult season.

God used that message to remind me that He hadn't left me.

He was still with me.

And He was still worthy of my praise.

Even now, those words stay with me.

Where is your praise?

A Gift in the Middle of the Storm

Looking back, I see that encounter with Jesus as an incredible gift.

It carried me through the days and weeks that followed as I recovered emotionally and physically from such a traumatic experience.

On the drive home from the hospital, I had another seizure in the car. Thankfully, it wasn't as severe as the first two and didn't last nearly as long.

God Revealed the Cause

Thankfully, I haven't had another seizure since that night.

While I was in the emergency room, doctors discovered that I have Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD), a condition that affects one of the arteries in my neck leading to my brain.

Remember the headache I had that day?

Earlier that afternoon, I had visited my chiropractor. It's possible that during my neck adjustment, blood flow to that artery was temporarily affected, which may have triggered the seizures.

As frightening as that night was, I'm incredibly thankful we discovered the condition.

Now I know I have it, which allows me to take better care of my health and avoid situations that could cause future problems.

He Never Leaves Us

One of the greatest lessons I learned from that night is this:

Jesus is always with us.

Sometimes we don't feel His presence.

Sometimes He seems silent.

Sometimes life doesn't make sense.

But none of those things change the truth.

He never leaves our side.

He walks with us through every fear, every trial, every unanswered question, and every victory.

God is good.

Even in the hardest moments.

Especially in the hardest moments.

It is often through our brokenness that He teaches us to depend on Him more deeply than ever before.

I've been following Jesus for more than twenty years, and He is still teaching me what it means to trust Him completely.

I believe He allowed me to experience this so that one day I could encourage someone else.

If you're walking through a difficult season today, I hope my story reminds you of one simple truth:

You are never alone.

Jesus is right beside you.

Always.