Up All Night Reading

Here is an email that I sent to Terri Blackstock, author of the Restoration series (and lots of other great books):
I have only ever written to one other author--my other favorite, Bodie Thoene. I have enjoyed all your books, but I just finished reading Dawn's Light and I had to write you. I started the book after dinner last night, and while I did get a good (short) night's sleep, I finished it this morning. I could hardly put it down. 3 years ago, my oldest son suffered traumatic brain injury having been hit from behind by a truck while riding his bicycle to work 6 weeks after his wedding (which I missed due to a ruptured appendix!). If he had not been wearing a helmet, he would be dead. His brain literally slammed against his own skull. As it was he spent 3 weeks in ICU--much the same as Beth did, but with medications to prevent seizures and the compression stockings to prevent clotting. He was in a coma most of that time; we literally thanked God for every breath he took on his own. In fact, through that time, God taught me more about thanksgiving than I ever could have expected under the circumstances. He also demonstrated the value of prayer as we heard from people we didn't know all across the country who were praying for our son (people passed it on prayer chains in ever-widening circles). We didn't know whether David would be healed in this life or taken home to be with His Savior, but through the experience, our faith was strained, exercised, and strengthened, and God was glorified. God chose to heal my son, and after a few weeks in a regular hospital room, he went home. The doctors expected him to need months or years in a special facility, but Medicaid was slow in approving the paperwork to pay for it. In the meantime, being around his own things brought David's memory back; his recovery was nothing short of a miracle. (He will never be exactly the same as he was before the accident, but we praise the Lord for the progress that he has made. If someone didn't know about David's brain surgery, he might not be able to tell.) While I wept over Beth's death, when you chose that outcome, I think it was very fitting in demonstrating that when God chooses to answer NO to our prayers, we can still trust Him. Every life is of value, whether 100 years or 25 years or 13 years. Your Restoration series really captures the significance of being grateful for even the smallest things. Your characters seem like real people, who struggle and question--but praise God, they find answers in the end! Keep writing! God is using your gift in a mighty way.
Love in Christ,
Ann Dunkerton
PS. My son and his wife are living in Columbus, OH, but they are on their way to visit us in PA this weekend. Before the accident, they were planning to be missionaries (David's heart was in Siberia, but his bride was hoping for something stateside). For the past 2 years, David has worked as an "intermittent" in OH, but that job ended in April. Since then he has not been able to find work. He is hoping to attend Clarion University to get a Masters in Library Science if the insurance company ever settles. I don't know if they will end up on the foreign field after all, but they both see America as a mission field, and they are trusting the Lord to guide their steps.