When Deon Unthank from SoGospelNews.com sent me an email a few days ago asking me how my husband was doing, I had no idea I would be writing an article this month for the website. I briefly gave Deon an update and he responded by asking me to share our testimony with you. He felt that many would be touched by our story and I appreciate him giving us the opportunity to do so.
On August 15, 2006 my husband Bill, had a serious accident. He fell 22 feet from a roof top face down on the concrete. I will never forget that feeling in the pit of my stomach when I got the phone call at 4:30pm that Tuesday afternoon. They were already rushing him to ER and could not tell me how serious he was injured. I immediately hung up the phone and started praying. When I arrived at the ER, they would not let me see him and still could not provide me with any info other than the fact he was alive. One hour later, they let me go to him. I was horrified! He was so broken and bruised. He broke his heel, knee, wrist, nose and two fractures in his face. Along with several lacerations and bruises. God spared his life! The doctors and paramedics both said it was a miracle he was not killed or injured any worse. He suffered NO head, neck or back injuries or internal injuries whatsoever! Praise God!
We found out that day how quickly your life can change. Life as we knew it stopped at that moment. What we thought was important was no longer an issue. Things that we thought just had to be done; no longer mattered. I am so grateful for God's mercy. It could have been a lot worse. After 2 surgeries and 6 days in the Trauma Unit, Bill came home. We had to make so many changes. Everyday we were faced with a new challenge. Simple things we took for granted like eating, sleeping and taking a shower became such a difficult task. We drew strength straight from God and he has seen us thru each challenge.
We had already had a very busy year with concerts and recording our new CD. We had so many delays with completing the CD and we had just finished the final mastering session that previous month. We were all geared up for the photo shoot. Then Bill had his accident and the now pictures would have to be delayed. He spent almost 3 months in a wheelchair and some painful hours with physical therapy. I could no longer focus on our music & ministry, and Bill could no longer oversee our family painting business. All our concerts had to be canceled and the CD was on hold. We also had a $70,000 hospital bill to pay with no medical insurance. We were so discouraged and uncertain of what the future held for us and our music but we knew to trust God.
We were completely overwhelmed by the amount of mail we received as the word got out about Bill's accident. We had people calling & emailing that we had never met and had never heard our music. Friends & family started a huge prayer chain that went all over the USA & other countries...even to a Chaplain in Iraq. The Chaplain requested to have our music sent to him so, someone sent him a CD we'd made a few years back. He sent me an email a few weeks later that completely took me by surprise and reminded me that God has HIS own way of doing things and HIS perfect time. He told me that he was the Chaplain to a group of soldiers that were in charge of transporting weapons, tanks & artillery to some of the most heated battles. He had shared our CD with his group, who were not all Christians and they started asking him to play the CD every night. They would all worship to the songs in their own way, and read from the Bible and pray. One night, they were in a convoy, transporting supplies to the battle and they were attacked. The Chaplain was in the passenger seat of the first truck and mashed play on the CD player. A song I had written when I was 15 years old started playing and he just broke down and cried. Some of the words were "Lord, I need another lifting up so I can make it through these modern troubled times." He said they played the song several times while they went thru that area where bullets and explosives were all around. Not one of his soldiers were harmed. They all made it safely. My husband read the email and was so blessed to hear that even at a time when we thought our music was over and we felt so helpless, God has a perfect plan to use us as HE sees fit.
The Doctor told us that Bill's heel was damaged the most, broken in several places and would never heal correctly. He said it would widen and flatten out, become grossly deformed and Bill would have to wear a special shoe and have a bad limp. However, we just kept on trusting God for complete healing. It had been only 6 weeks since the accident and Bill went in for his checkup. The Doctor had to look at the new x-rays 3 times. He was quite surprised to tell us that Bill's heel had already completely formed together in perfect position and there was no deformity whatsoever! He was also able to go ahead and remove all casts & braces and give Bill the "OK" for 100% weight bearing on all injuries! We rejoiced and gave God praise right there in the Doctor's office. We can't thank Him enough for his mighty works! Oh, and if I had more time, I could tell you how God paid the $70,000 hospital bill for us in just a few months! You know what, there is something very comforting about being right in the center of God's will for your life.
We finished our CD in December of 2006 and sent our first single to radio. "He Prays For Me has done very well for us. It is being played on SG & Christian Country radio stations all over. We started booking concerts again January 2007 and we have stayed as busy as we want to be right now. When we started Psalm 101, we knew our music would not be for everyone. However, we had no idea it would take us to the places we have had a chance to minister. We have been able to put our focus on ministry like never before. We have so much to share with folks to try & encourage them along this way. We have been doing crusades, churches, bike fests, fairs, festivals and secular music events where we were the only Gospel music on the schedule. We will be going to the Dominican Republic to sing for the first time next year! We have seen more people saved, healed and encouraged at our concerts this year than ever before. That's what it's all about and we give God all the praise for HE IS WORTHY!
If you have ever seen Psalm 101 in concert or know anything about our music, we are a little different. I do most of the singing and our music is very guitar driven because my husband plays the lead guitar. A lot of folks have described us as "modern country music with strong gospel lyrics." My husband was raised in a broken home full of abuse, alcohol & drugs and of course, rock music was a major influence. He grew up without a father in his life and ended up addicted to the things he was raised around. However, at the age of 16 he gave his life to Jesus and everything changed. Bill loves playing guitar and he plays it with his all his heart. God has used Bill and his guitar to encourage many young folks at our concerts. When Bill fell last year, he broke his wrist and they had to put a metal pin in place. He thought he would never get to play the guitar again. God has helped him tremendously! I think he plays better than ever and I tease him all the time. Since he has the metal in his wrist, now he can play "heavy metal" for Jesus! Bill is also singing more in our concerts now. Before, he just wanted to hide behind the guitar. God has a way of getting us to do what he wants us to do.
We are honored more than ever to do HIS work. I never thought we could live and breath his will in our lives anymore than we already were, until these past months. I got an email from our promoter Rick Hendrix. He said, " Angela, not a day goes by that our phones are not ringing for your music. People know what you all are about. They know what you all do." He continued to say,"While listening to your project 'Worth the Wait', I cant help it. I cry, rejoice, laugh, and smile. It was about 2 in the morning and I was facing some hard decisions. That I realized, God was going to use your song "Healing" not only in my life. But, he was going to use it for the world."
After reading what Rick had said, I realized, many prayers had already been answered. Hopes and dreams restored. Grace provided in our lives and bodies. God has given us a song to sing. And not just to sing. But, to live. I know more than ever, this is God's timing and place for Psalm 101. I hope when you hear our new single "Healing" from the Rick Hendrix Company volume 50 compilation hitting your local radio station soon, you find that place God is calling you to, or you find that peace he has promised. For he brought us through, just as the word promised. I was raised to believe, except it and receive it. And that we did!
You can learn more about Psalm 101 online
http://www.myspace.com/psalm101
http://www.shoutlife.com/psalm101
http://www.psalm101ministries.org
Author: SGN
| Author's Website: http://sogospelnews.com/
Written: 08/01/2007
| 
Category: Feature Articles
Comments: 1
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Thanks for sharing your testimony. We serve a good God. May God continue to bless you and your family in your ministry.
Tony Partigianoni
http://www.ksgm.com/images/gospel.gif
Pure SGM & Quartet-Style Singing
http://www.ksgm.com
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