Article March 21, 2005 Issue

THINK YOUR LIFE IS OVER? THINK AGAIN!

ANNETTE BRIDGES

TEXOMA ENTERPRISE

Marvels inspire other marvels, as another's healing can inspire our own prayers for healing. Since we published Vatham Pandian's account of her remarkable deliverance from the South Asian tsunami (February 7, 2005), she has received many messages of thanks. Her never-give-up spirit, and total reliance on God, deeply touched many readers, including Annette Bridges, who saw a pre-publication posting of the Sentinel's story on the website spirituality.com. Here is Annette's response—an op-ed column published in the Texoma Enterprise, a northern Texas weekly newspaper on February 3, 2005.

IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS, newspapers and the airwaves have been filled with scenes and news of devastation and images of despair. Yet scattered among the procession of tragedies have been incredible tsunami survivor accounts. Stories that captivate the heart and fill the soul with hope. Stories that respond to the ages-old question—"How could God allow this to happen?"—with illustrations that protest, "He couldn't. He wouldn't. He didn't."

One survival story has changed my life. Before I read her story, I had been having bad dreams, almost daily, imagining myself being overcome by massive waves. I would wake up in a sweat of fear, vowing there couldn't be a situation where God's helping hand couldn't reach me and save me. But during my dreams my heart would again sink with doubts and little confidence.

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