|
The Story of 11:11
You all remember the tragic story of 9-11-01; my story started four years ago with a small pain in my left chest. No one knew but me that while at rest or at work this nagging pain was always there. One day while driving I glanced at the digital clock in my truck and the time was 11:11 am. Several weeks later while driving I glanced again and it was 11:11 am. This happened many times over the next few months. Being the curious person that I am I began to wonder, “What gives?” and while in a moment of silent meditation I questioned GOD as to what the meaning might be. While in church I have often heard that one of GOD’s premises is that HE is numero uno – number 1. He should be the number one thought and purpose in our life. So I wondered if I had been acting like “I” was number one in my life. His simple answer to me was to “Trust Me”. Often times from that day forward when I glanced at the clock it was 11:11. I even woke up after midnight and looked at the clock and it was 1:11. This does not mean I looked at a clock and it was 11:10 or 11:12 but it was always 11:11. What a scary thing, but when I did see this that small still voice would remind me to “Trust Me”. This went on for two years. I still kept it to myself. Only GOD knew what was just ahead of me. In late September 2004 I had gone through elective cardiolite testing and several heart catheterizations which revealed that I had several vascular blockages that required coronary bypasses. I was admitted to a Charlotte, NC hospital for four days waiting on operating room scheduling time to have the CABG (coronary artery bypass grafting). While in my room with my wife on the day before my surgery, the nurse walked in and said I needed to sign all the papers and release forms for the surgery. After a while the nurse came back with a hand full of forms; one of which was for organ donation. When I got to the bottom and it asked for my signature along with the date and time. I signed it and asked my wife the time and she looked at her watch and stated it is 11:11 am. It hit me like a ton of bricks off the back of a truck. I rolled back on my hospital bed sobbing like a baby. My wife came over to me and put her arms around me and said that all was going to be well. After four days of worrying and stress about the upcoming CABG she thought it had just caught up with me. I told her that I knew it was going to be OK. After a short cry I sat back up and dated the form. In the next few seconds GOD revealed to me in HIS own way the story of Moses and GOD sending him to the children of Israel and Moses asking the question of “Who am I to tell the children of Israel who you are?” GOD told Moses that “I AM THAT I AM”. In that moment GOD revealed to me that the 11:11 am experience was not a time on the clock but 11:1 “I AM” and that I needed to trust him. I again rolled back on my hospital bed with great respect and in great reverence and awe of him again crying uncontrollably. My wife again came to comfort me thinking it was just my emotions. After a short while I sat up in bed and asked her to please give me a sheet of paper and I penned on it 11:11 AM “Trust Me”. We hung it on the wall of the hospital room and I then shared the story of the chest pain and the time on the clock to my wife. The sign became a story telling time for everyone that came into my room the entire hospital stay. Over the past two years we have shared this story with many people and shared the story of the “Great I AM” and GOD’s love and his intervening in our lives. His provision in our time of need has always been there. While RVing in southern Illinois last year on a genealogy trip we visited a small restaurant in Dongola, Illinois for breakfast. After eating I went to the counter to pay my bill. I handed the waitress a $20.00 bill. She rang it up and immediately said this must be your lucky day. I commented back to her that every day was my lucky day and asked her why she would say that. She pointed at the change showing on the cash register and it was $11.11….. I grinned and asked to come back to my table to tell her my story. She was amazed. The story is still the same; we need to “Trust Him” everyday.
Dan Patterson Spencer, North Carolina
Below is a grocery receipt from Food Lion
Below is exhaust pipe I installed on my 3500 Dodge dually in
February of 2008. Look at the time
|
