A Walk Through the Dark with Eva Piper

God promises to give us His strength in our times of weakness.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

And when we trust His promises… by choosing to rely on Him instead of ourselves… a soul-securing confidence comes in the most unexpected ways.

Eva Piper, wife of Don Piper {the author of 90 minutes in Heaven} knows just how true that is.

Today she’s here to share with us how she found a surprising confidence during her darkest hours. Her new book, “A Walk Through the Dark,” released last week. It’s based on her role in the story that began the day her husband died and came back to life 90 minutes later, and the years and countless surgeries and miracles that followed. Click the arrow below to watch a powerful short video trailer about Eva’s story.

{If you are reading this via email, click here to return to my blog to watch and enter to WIN a copy of Eva’s book.}

From Eva Piper:

I was sitting in a movie theater watching The Sound of Music. The young Maria had sung while dancing through the mountains, the sisters had asked “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” and now Maria was walking through town on her way to serve as governess to a group of seven children singing about confidence.

The song begins with Maria listing her doubts and fears but ends with these words. “I have confidence in confidence alone, besides which you see I have confidence in me!”

I never thought of myself as a confident person. I was confident in some of the ‘things’ I did…playing the piano, teaching school, being a wife and mother. But when it came to making decisions, I usually let someone else take charge.

I rationalized they knew more about such and such than I did. They were more outgoing. They were more sure of themselves. They were more ‘confident.’

Some people build confidence by practicing a sport or art. Some build confidence by taking classes in public speaking. Others may study to become an expert in a certain field of study. My confidence came from a very different source.

During the second week of my husband Don’s stay in the ICU, it became necessary for me to move into a hotel a short distance from the hospital. I needed to be close by in case anything happened so I checked into the Downtown Hyatt.

Each morning as soon I awoke I placed a call to the nurses’ station in the ICU. As soon as someone answered I would go through my list of questions…How is his breathing? What is his oxygen rate? What is his pain level?

The nurses responded to all of my questions and provided any additional information that I might need. But on this particular morning, things went differently. Instead of getting the information I requested I was told, “Oh honey, you don’t need to know all that, you’re just the wife.”

In a split second I went from being a person who questioned whether I was up to the task to one who realized I had more strength than I realized.

Without skipping a beat I asked to speak to her supervisor. When she came on the phone I explained what had happened and waited.

The supervisor apologized and quickly gave me the information on Don.

That was my turning point. That morning I took my first step toward being someone who was willing to do whatever was needed to move my husband’s recovery along.

Looking back I can see, that’s when I stepped beyond my private comfort space—and would do it many more times in the months ahead.

During those early days I had to push to get what I needed. I learned to ask questions until I not only had answers but I understood the situation we were facing.

If I didn’t grasp the meaning or if staff spoke with medical jargon, I learned to say, “I’m not in the medical field. Can you explain that again?”It worked. I got what I wanted.

I was never belligerent or rude. I tried to treat people with respect. But when I became aware of things that needed doing or I required information, I asked and stayed steadily at it until I received an acceptable response.

The situation with the rude nurse taught me a valuable lesson. Sometimes God uses difficult people or situations to move you to where He wants you to be. Without that rude nurse I would never have had the confidence to face the rest of my walk through the dark.

Eva Piper is a speaker and author of A Walk Through the Dark, where she shares unique insights into the trials of heartache and the triumph of overcoming!

The wife of best-selling author Don Piper, Eva was the glue that held her broken husband and her family together. Don’s story, recounted in the New York Times bestseller, 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Life and Death, is Eva’s story too. A teacher of 34 years, she and Don now live in Pasadena, Texas. Visit http://evapiper.com/ to reserve your copy of Eva’s new book, “A Walk Through the Dark” today!

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