Once at the hospital Ericka began vomiting - another sign of head trauma. Immediately they began IV’s, x-rays, CT scans, etc. to determine any damage to the right side of her head where she landed onto the concrete. We concluded she was pushing the push broom and backed off the edge in between the studs of the wall, which were twelve inches apart. We contacted family and friends, to begin the prayer chain. During her tests, we saw blood coming from her right nostril... causing us to panic again.

Minutes seemed like hours, hours like days, as they completed one test after another. Finally the doctor came to give us the diagnosis. He said Ericka only had a minor concussion! Praise God, we were overjoyed! A nurse commented to me "you know, children are so resilient". Though sometimes true, I explained to her that only God safely carried my baby down twelve feet onto the floor.  Soon after, she was released from the hospital.

We praised the Lord for His blessings during the time, which had passed, though we did not know the extent of the miracle and the many who had interceded in prayer for Ericka. Two thirty that morning I called my cousin, Eydie, in Louisiana to give her the news.  She said her dad called and left a message on the answering machine, but all he knew was Ericka fell from the second floor.  Nothing else was known. Eydie said upon hearing the message she came down with a sharp pain on the right side of her head, but didn’t know why. Together she and her husband prayed in intercession for Ericka, anointing Eydie’s head for the pain. Upon "Amen" of the prayer, Eydie’s pain in her head went away instantly.  She told me she knew at that moment Ericka would be fine as she felt the heaviness lift away.

Five days later Eric and I went back to the house. We were able to put some of the pieces together…  Measuring over 24 inches wide the push broom had to fall just right to get in between the 12-inch space from one stud to another.  Second, in order to hear the broomstick echo on the floor the Shop Vac had to be off. This was no coincidence, as Eric never stops working until the job is done. Also, we went upstairs and saw the rail on the balcony Eric vaulted over, which was cracked horizontally the length of the board. Together we talked about the doctor’s report stating the small of the cartilage on top of Ericka’s right ear cushioned the blow that may have been a part of saving her life.  We know it was God.

Also, during this week, we find out that a man (Tonye) from our church held a prayer with his group at work the day following the accident at 2:15pm. That turned out to be the exact hour Ericka vomited for her last time… Another answer to Prayer.

On September 1, 2000, the most unbelievable thing happened.... I had the kids picture made by a "new" photographer in our area, a couple of months back. She is a super Christian woman who left me a wonderful note with my pictures, explaining how she considered her photography a gift that God has graciously given her and along with this gift she feels that God gives her people not only to photograph, but also to pray for. So after I read the note, I decided to email her a thank you for the note and for some reason decided to share the story of Ericka with her.    
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Developing an Inner Life
by Asoka Selvarajah, Ph.D

One of the most important things you can do in life is to simply find time for yourself. By this, we don’t mean opting out of society or "spacing out". Value yourself enough to give yourself time to simply be, without any expectation of goal or result. Paradoxically, by doing this, we can often achieve far more in our externally focused lives than we otherwise might.

When our lives are primarily externally focused, it becomes easy to lose sight of the game plan. What are we doing all this for? What is the point of it all? Like too many stressed out corporate "high-fliers", we may reach the very top of the ladder, only to find that it is leaning against the wrong wall. The joy of simply living all too easily evaporates as we postpone our pleasure for some unspecified future date. We don’t allow ourselves to be happy NOW, but instead promise ourselves that when we have got that promotion, or fallen in love with that ideal partner, or had that baby, bought that new home, or become a millionaire, THEN we can be happy. Meanwhile the present time, which in truth is all we ever really have, quietly slips away.

The biggest trap is to work for money. Many people do this assuming that once a certain amount of money has been amassed in the bank, or once they can see the sheer immensity of their assets laid out before them, THEN they will be truly happy. Again, it is an utter illusion. The truth is that you have to prepare your mindset for wealth first or else... 
(a) you will never truly achieve it because your inner mind will forever act to keep you within your comfort zone or, 
(b) if you do achieve it, you will not have developed the habits of mind to be content with it anyway.

Tony Robbins tells about how much he wanted to become a millionaire but once he actually achieved it, the thrill lasted for about ten minutes. After that, everything felt just the same as before. Yes, there are many millionaires who are happy. However, there are many who are as equally miserable. In fact, many of the latter would agree that their prime cause of sorrow is the money itself; fear of losing it, dissatisfaction at not being as rich as so-and-so who is worth ten times more, etc. The key point is that money itself is not the determiner of happiness and purpose. A correct state of mind IS.

Capturing our purpose is THE most important thing we can possibly do. It is not the work of a moment, an hour or even of a few days. It is an ongoing project that brings more riches each and every day. By doing this, we discover who we really are and why exactly we are here. The truth is that you are here for a purpose. You manifested into this life for a reason. So how do we go about discovering this purpose?

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