This is a story about God’s saving grace. This is a story about a girl with blue hair, purple lips, flowers, and scars to prove her battle against death for her own life. This is the story about Emily.

When I was 16, 17, even 18, people would ask me “What do you want to do when you grow up?” I would respond with silence and an angry look, because I was so irritated with life -more specifically the fixed life I was living- I was suicidal for a portion of my teenage years. This led me to believe that I would never live past my 20’s because I was more determined to breathe my last breath rather than fight a little for the life I was given. Though my innocence was taken through this process of my life, not everything was lost. When Emily was telling me her story, I was in tears for the majority of the time because her and I both said the same thing:

“I never thought I would live to my 20th birthday… I should be dead right now.”

But how DIFFERENT our stories are. I was fighting against life for death, and she was fighting against death for her life.

Emily was raised in a Christian home with her 2 older sisters where her mom got divorced at the age of 7. Her mom remarried at the age of 8. Complications occurred and she grew away from her faith.

Her life consisted of trying to survive due to a heart failure she was having. She spent her teenage years in a “sensitive” way of living in order to protect her immune system. She stayed far away from the stage at concerts. She needed medical consultation in order to get tattoos. She needed devices to help her own heart beat. She spent much of her time having needles poked into her skin for tests, waiting for results and steps on what to do next. She finished high school, still worked as hard as she could, but was so ill that she wouldn’t make it to university (yet).

There was a time where there was chemistry between her and a boy. Emily and this guy had been really great friends for a little over a year and they weren’t sure of whether or not to date, so they were taking time with the decision. Then one Friday, they planned on going on an actual date. The Monday of that week came around and Emily received a call announcing that they had found her a heart for her heart transplant. She would be having surgery the next day (Tuesday) and would be in recovery for the next weeks after that. She texted him to say that she had to cancel their plans for Friday and he understood, but asked why. She said,

“They found a heart.”

And he called her in tears being so happy for her. Later on, he spent some time with her while she was in recovery and that was the moment they decided that being together would bring fulfilling joy to the both of them.

Emily explained the process of her illness by saying that for all her medical complications, they never put her fully under; she would always be severely sedated. This time around, she ended up in a coma. 

A couple things happened throughout this entire process:

1. Her sisters travelled long commutes to come see her. Once, when she was in a coma, they took this picture on the right with her in her hospital bed. You can tell how pale Emily is, but how she is still gripping on to her life with faith.

2. Emily had an angel with her the whole time. Looking after her, protecting her, and carrying her the whole way just like God had commanded His angels to do:

Psalm 91:11 – For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

There was a beautiful day after waking up and recovering for a long time where she was told she would be allowed to go outside and walk around. That day, it was cloudy, and it was raining. She was with her mom and her step dad, and as they took her outside, she re-experienced God’s presence in a way that was beautifully unfamiliar. They were all staying safe from the rain under the trees outside the hospital, but once the rain started coming down upon the earth, Emily felt the urge to step away from the trees into the open air, extend her arms out wide, palms facing up, eyes closed and looking up into the Heavens. When she allowed this moment of freedom into her spirit, she could feel the overwhelming power of the Lord’s presence in the silence of the winds, the free-falling of the rain drops, the breath of God in the space between her fingers, the growth of the greenery beneath her feet, and all the while, knowing it was God’s miraculous works behind every one of these feelings.

Freedom. She was finally free again.

Deuteronomy 31:6 – The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged

Emily says this is the bible verse that encouraged her throughout her entire process and still influences her today. While I spent my teenage years hating my life, Emily spent those same years fighting for hers. She’s been told she may not survive, she’ll live a short life, she’ll live a sensitive life, she’ll never do certain things. But hearing Emily say her story, I don’t believe any of those things she’s been told because Emily is surrounded by her angels, she has God fighting for her, and she can do all things through Christ who strengthens her.

Emily got rushed to the hospital once because her heart was beating at over 200bpm. Her doctor told her that she had actually died, and then came back. Recently, Emily has gotten some beautiful tattoos that a lot of people won’t understand at first glance. She has a Harry Potter-like tattoo that says “Together, they make one master of death.” Which is a famous Harry Potter line but honestly sounded terrifying to me at first. Her explanation was unbeatable: Master of Death to her meant that she had cheated death, more than once. She was honestly supposed to be dead, but God and His army of angels surrounded Emily with life because her time had not yet come.

Emily got another tattoo on her forearm that shows her heart (literally) and how it will keep beating and pumping life. It is filled with flowers, little baby mushrooms, and flower beads that haven’t bloomed yet because there is still more life to come. 

I believe Emily is a fighter and a survivor. Emily speaks with confidence that the Lord will get her through every trial that comes her way.

Her story is not over. Her story is not meant to be short. Her story lives eternally with God, and she is an example of what it means to fight for your own life when God is there with us. Jesus stands beside us, holding our hand on our walk. God stands behind us, ready to catch us if we ever think we’re going to fall. And the Holy Spirit stands  before us, showing us that our final destination is to be with God in His eternal Kingdom.

Praise God, and thank You for Emily.