LINKED BY FRIENDSHIP, HARDSHIP AND FAITH

I want to share with you an extremely unusual story of two families, their friendship, their sons and the unfortunate circumstances that have befallen each of their sons.   This is a story filled with faith, prayer and trust in our Lord.   This is the time of year when families gather together to celebrate Christmas and look ahead to a New Year filled with  hopes for health, joy and prosperity.   These two families have, for the last year, shared a burden that neither would have ever imagined.... yet it has not only brought them closer but it has become a source of prayers, prayer chains, love and support that is universal in its scope.   For me to be personally a tiny part of this support in offering prayers for them has been an honor God has laid upon my heart and the hearts of thousands all over the world.  I know that you will be moved to share this desire to pray for these families as well.   I was not aware of these two families until December 2011.

The Skellys with four children and the Powers with two children, were living in Fremont, California in 1992.  Stacy Skelly's son is Tyler, her oldest,  and Cathy Powers' son is Bryce.   As mothers of young boys who went to school and played together, they formed a bond that has lasted over the years.   The families eventually moved  to different states but the mothers stayed in touch.  The boys grew up, graduated from school and each chose to enlist in the military.   Bryce chose the Air Force and Tyler the Marine Corps.

Last December 2011, Tyler was stationed in Bahrain.   A young Marine man in excellent health, he suffered a fall that caused severe brain damage.  While being treated it was discovered he was diabetic.   He was in a coma and once stabilized flown to Germany where the situation became worse during the flight, near death when he arrived.  Again he needed to be stabilized to return to the states, to Walter Reed where Stacy was at his bedside.

This is when I was introduced to Stacy and Tyler by a friend from my church who had moved to Tennessee a few years before.  Two of her friends at her new church were the grandparents of Tyler.   When they mentioned Walter Reed to her she told them about my visits to the hospital with our Marine Corps League and they asked if I might visit with the Skellys.   How grateful I was that God had positioned all of us so that I might be there for them, so far from home with no other family able to be by their sides.   As often as time allowed I would visit with them, pray with them, and just be there for them.   Tyler was in a coma for many weeks.

Stacy had reached out to her friend Cathy and Cathy started a "Support Tyler Skelly" Facebook page that took on a life of it's own.   Prayers were flowing in from everywhere.....and they were such an enormous source of encouragement for Stacy!!!   Friends and strangers were there for her every day.....awaiting a new report every morning.... all of us praying to our Great Healer in Heaven for a miracle.  You can  go to that page and see how a year of prayer has brought miracles.   In the spring Tyler was moved to Palo Alto, CA where Stacy accompanied him to a new facility.   He has made incredible gains, but he is yet to be able to speak.   He looks like his pre-incident self, but speech has eluded him.  This is what we are all praying for so please join me in prayer for Tyler to regain his ability to speak.

Now ten months have gone by.   In that time Bryce had been stationed in Japan with the Air Force.   On October 13, 2012, just ten minutes off base on the weekend, he was in a catastrophic  automobile accident.   In a coma, he was hospitalized in Japan for weeks and then transferred to Hawaii and finally transferred to Richmond, VA.    Cathy is at his side where she has been since the accident. Bryce is still in a coma and now there is a support page on Facebook for Bryce.   Cathy and Stacy are there for each other.   Bryce has had many setbacks, but the power of prayer and the knowledge that hundreds are praying is  what keeps hope alive.   Cathy has complete faith and trust in the Lord that He will restore Bryce to the person he was prior to the accident.   She asks us all to pray for specific healing each day when she updates us.

That is where we come in.............we know that if there are multitudes of us praying, if we believe and trust that God can bring miracles,  than these two young men who chose to serve their country, their careers cut short by tragic accidents....will one day be well.   As we know, the most difficult is the reality that ultimately it is God's will that prevails.  That these two families are sharing the same tragedies  is remarkable to say the least. The evidence of God's presence in their healing is a reality that we cannot deny.The unified support from people everywhere has been a glue that has held us all together to share the ups and downs of recovery for both Tyler and Bryce.  I ask each of you to please pray for each of them.   Their progress can be found on their individual Facebook Support pages.