Testimony by Sharika Davis

 

In April of last year, while in Africa spending time with a very special friend of mine, I was in a traumatic accident that changed my life forever. I’ve titled this testimony “Count It All Joy” because this amazing trial revealed to me how completely my life is in God’s hands, and how He permitted this situation to teach me patience, that the testing of my faith would have its perfect work.

In 2018, I received a message on Facebook from a man named Chris, who lived in Nigeria. I don’t usually respond to everyone in my inbox, but when I do I use the opportunity to witness for Christ. Our conversations were solely focused on God, and it wasn’t long before Chris was messaging me every day. It became obvious that he was interested in more than friendship, but only 6 months prior I had gone through a very heart-breaking experience that really caused me to view Christian men in a negative light. Because of this I had become completely content with remaining single for the rest of my life; married to Christ alone and devoted to full-time ministry. I had also never believed in “online dating,” so I had firmly established in my mind to keep our relationship to a witnessing opportunity.

Chris was very persistent in reaching out to me every day, but not in a negative way. What made him different was that he showed a very loving and caring spirit, and was gentle and calm in his speech. God was showing me more and more of his character as we got to know each other more. Chris could see that I was a woman of God, and told me that he had been praying for a woman like me to come into his life. He told me that he wanted to continue to pursue me, so I put him to the test. I told him that if he wanted to see if this could go any further, it would have to be completely led by God, and we would have to have Bible studies and prayer together. I felt impressed to make this suggestion in order to see where his heart was at and what his motivation was. I wanted to make it very clear from the beginning, before we talked about anything else of the future, that God had to be at the center—because He is the only one who could hold us together if it was His will. Chris said he was definitely interested, and we started a few days later.

As we got to know one another better and sought the Lord in prayer and devotion, the Lord showed me much in our friendship. I prayed constantly to make sure that I wasn’t running ahead of God. What made this so different from my previous experiences was that God allowed us to connect completely on the mental and spiritual level, so that the physical aspect was never an issue or temptation. I enjoyed getting to know his mind and heart rather than focusing on being in his presence.

We talked for over a year and a half, and then discussed finally meeting each other in person. I shared about our relationship with a few people, and some reacted in a very discouraging way—making judgments and assumptions about who Chris was, saying that I needed to watch out for people like him because I couldn’t know his true motive. It was very difficult trying to explain to them the Chris that I knew. I recognized that there was nothing I could do to defend him, so I surrendered to God more than ever, and pleaded with Him to guide my footsteps. My father was very supportive, however, and said that if I knew this was how God was leading, I should go for it. We began discussing how we could go about meeting one another, and we decided it would be best for me to go to Nigeria. The ticket was pretty pricey but I knew that if it was God’s will, He would provide the funds. I also asked Him that if it was NOT His will, He would completely close the door.

One day I was telling a couple about my plans, and they suddenly told me that if I could come up with half of the money, they would cover the other half. I was so shocked that they were willing to help me and I praised the Lord for their care towards me. Originally, one of my close male friends, who is also African, was supposed to come along with me, but I wanted this trip to be different. I didn’t want it to just be some joyous adventure, I wanted God to reveal to me a complete 360 of the type of man Chris was. I was reading in a wonderful book called “Letters to Young Lovers” that it is crucial to weigh every sentiment and watch every development of character in the one whom you consider spending the rest of your life with. Therefore I wanted to bring someone with me who could help me to discern things spiritually, and potentially see things I possibly couldn’t or might overlook. So I was talking to a good friend about this desire, and she actually suggested her husband, who is an evangelist, to come with me. He agreed to go and decided to use the opportunity to do a seminar at a church over there as well. He asked if I would sing at the presentations and I was delighted to do so. I was happy that Chris and I would be able to experience ministry work together.

Before I knew it I was flying to Nigeria. Between leaving my home and arriving in Africa God was showing me His hand in it all—from divine appointments with the people I crossed paths with, to the fact that I almost missed my flight but by a miracle God allowed me to make it, it was just amazing to experience. When I arrived I was greeted by Chris and a few of his friends at the airport. We stayed with those friends and then headed to meet his parents. Chris is very close to his mom and often told me that I reminded him of her. I really appreciated this, especially due to what I’d read in Letters to Young Lovers, pg. 24:

“Let the woman who desires a peaceful, happy union, who would escape future misery and sorrow, inquire before she yields her affections, Has my lover a mother? What is the stamp of her character? Does he recognize his obligations to her? Is he mindful of her wishes and happiness? If he does not respect and honor his mother, will he manifest respect and love, kindness and attention, toward his wife? When the novelty of marriage is over, will he love me still? Will he be patient with my mistakes, or will he be critical, overbearing, and dictatorial? True affection will overlook many mistakes; love will not discern them.”

When I had the opportunity to meet his mother, I finally understood why He’d made these remarks. She was a very Godly woman who did full-time ministry with her husband—one of the things Chris had been praying for as well for him and whoever God would put in his life to do. It was a blessing to see the Christian character and Godly values in the home. They surprised me by waking me up early the first morning to join them in family prayer, and to see that this was a daily habit. After visiting with his family Chris and I made plans to meet up with Demario. We would have to travel in a commercial vehicle to get to the state he was in—about a 10 hour journey.

So on May 5, 2019, as we planned to head out early in the morning, Chris asked if we could pray one last time before leaving. He felt uneasy about the travel, and I’d gotten a call from Demario cautioning me about how deadly the roads were here and to be careful. But I felt strongly impressed by God to move in faith, knowing that He would keep us. As we arrived to the commercial vehicle, I wanted to sit in the seat behind the driver, but the driver told me I had to sit in the very back because the others had paid before I did. I would later find out that this was the direct intervention of God. As we started the journey, I became very concerned about the driver. He was very careless. He fell asleep behind the wheel a few times, almost swerved off the road while reaching for the dashboard, and almost had a head on collision with another car that he ran off the road.

About two hours in is when the accident happened. Before we could even look up to tell him to slow down as he tore around the roundabout, it was too late. I saw my life flash before my eyes. All I remember thinking was, “We are going to die.” The van flipped four times, hit an unfinished building, and a pole… I felt my back crack each time the van impacted the ground. As the van finally came to a stand still I remember being very dizzy, wondering what had just happened and being amazed that I was still alive. I turned to look at Chris, and as he looked at me he screamed and jumped out of the van. I couldn’t fathom why he’d left me there, but I became very afraid and felt very alone. I didn’t know anyone else here. Who would help me? I cried out to God, knowing that He was my only present help. Little did I know that Chris had jumped out of the vehicle in order to start pulling everyone else out, so that he could eventually get to me in the back seat. The driver’s legs had been severed, and he ended up dying from internal injuries a few days later. The individual who had sat behind the driver’s seat—in the seat I’d wanted to take—had been thrown from the van and was also killed.

Moments later I started to lose my sight and I thought I was going blind. Little did I know that Chris was outside the van lying prostrate on the ground, begging a taxi driver to take us to the hospital. He came back to help me out, and I wiped my face, discovering that I wasn’t blind but excessive blood was pouring from my forehead. As I stepped out of the wrecked vehicle, I noticed people standing outside screaming at me and taking pictures. I reached up to touch my head and felt my skull, and immediately started panicking. I knew this was very serious and I didn’t know what would happen to me. As I tried to walk to the taxi I fell into a hole. I badly hurt my knee and leg so that I was rendered unable to walk for several days. As we climbed into the taxi Chris called his mother crying, begging her to pray for me. I started talking to God, asking him if this was the end for me. Did He allow me to come over here just to die? Is this His will for my life? I prayed that if it must be so, that my death would somehow be used to bring glory to His name. I claimed His peace and felt it come over me.

As we arrived at the hospital everyone, including the doctors, stopped in their tracks and stared at me with awestruck faces. I’m sure they had never seen a person cut from ear to ear, with their scalp hanging off the back of their head and their skull exposed. People often tell me it was like a scene from a horror movie. They asked if I had insurance, which I did not. Chris ran to find the nearest ATM to draw money so that I could get help immediately. If there was no money available they would not help me. While he left to get the money, I sat there for a very long time just waiting for something to happen and watching all the eyes on me. I suddenly felt a sense of complete comfort come over me and God began to speak encouragement to me, which I voiced to all who were listening. I told them that God was going to save my life so that His glory could be seen, and that He would also bless them all for helping me. I said much more that I cannot remember, but at the end they all shouted, “Amen!!” When the payment was made and the medical supplies received they laid me on a table, sedated me, and began to stitch up my head. I overheard the doctor saying, “I really want to help this girl. She prayed for all of us. I want to give her the best.” They rushed me to another hospital which was about 1 hour and 30 minutes away for a CT scan, which showed that my brain and skull were fully intact—amazing news.

They put me in another room and I stayed there, lying on my back for about 2 days straight. I was unable to do anything. Chris’ parents traveled about 3 hours to be with us at the hospital. I remember that first night as I moaned in agony, his sweet mom prayed over me almost every hours and fanned me the whole night to try to keep me cool. On the 3rd day, they moved me to another larger room called the Women’s Ward, and I remained there for 2 weeks total. It was then that God began showing me how He was answering my prayers. All of the attributes I was seeing in Chris and his family members were revealing to me that they were genuine Christian people. They went above and beyond to help me as much as they could, and made many sacrifices—even sleeping in their cars, and borrowing money from others to help with the medical expenses until my dad, mom, and others were able to send funds. What touched my heart the most about Chris was his loving care towards me. He was also in a lot of pain from the accident, and still every day his first priority was making sure that I was okay, that I was resting well, that I had bathed, and that I had eaten. He would go out in the heat of the day just to find specific foods that I’d asked for, and would come back so exhausted. He also made sure that I was trying to walk and gain my health and strength back. He put his pain aside to focus and help me. He even hated the sight of blood, but he stayed by my side and held my hand every time that my doctor had to come to restitch or replace the bandage on my head, and encourage me to by strong. This was a love that I knew only God could give him. God showed me that Chris was being led by Him, and that I had nothing to be afraid of.

During our time at the hospital, Chris and I still continued to do our devotions together and I read my Bible in my spare time. God was everywhere and His presence was truly felt. I had become the talk of the hospital. Many people had heard about my accident and came to pray over me or just to talk to me and get to know me. It was truly a blessing. There were two young girls who were there for almost the same amount of time that I was, visiting their sick grandmother. We began singing a hymn together and almost all of the nurses and doctors and a few other patients joined in to sing with us. It was so beautiful. Chris started helping me try to walk again and my doctors were amazed by my progress as I was almost able to get out of bed on my own as well. When my doctor worked on my head he would also sing hymns and Scripture songs, and I felt so comforted by God that I knew everything would be alright. One night I woke up and my body was pulsating really fast. I didn’t know what to think or believe, but I wondered if this would be my last day on earth. I prayed that night for God to give me another day to live and He did, so I began praying that prayer every night before I slept and every morning my eyes would open. I was also able to witness to one of my nurses about the Sabbath. I wrote down all the Scriptures that came to my mind, and the next day I overheard him sharing about it with his coworkers.

One day while in the hospital, Chris asked me to come outside. I was super excited because I hadn’t been outside much, since everyone was concerned of the serious head injury and thinking I would faint because of the heat. As we went outside, Chris picked up a bundle of flowers that he had hand picked. The funny part was how he had improvised to hold them together using the tape the doctors had used to the tap the bandage on my head. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, and I said yes. He told me that God had showed him through this accident how he was capable of being a responsible man and husband, and that it revealed to him just how much he loved me. We got married one week later.

The day before I left the hospital, one of my nurses came to me and told me that she admired my faith. It really touched my heart in the midst of what I’d been through. I’d nearly lost my life, and four others in the accident had lost theirs, but God showed me that He was right there with me through it all. I actually didn’t know that I’d suffered extensive injuries in my back from seven fractured vertebrates until I’d returned to the U.S., but God was given me the strength to endure the pain through all that time.

I am overjoyed to still by in the land of the living, and to be able to share what I’ve come through, especially since some have not lived to do the same. Many people ask me if I ever get mad at God for what happened, or doubt His goodness towards me, and I tell them absolutely not. He answered every one of my prayers, especially that He would be glorified through it all. God showed me through this experience what nothing else could, and that was Chris’s heart—the one thing that I needed confirmation of from the beginning. I can confidently say that this man has been at my side every step of the way, showing me the unconditional love of Christ, and this Scripture comes to mind as I think of what sums of my story.

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you , as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christs’ sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed, we may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

Some people may look at this as an horrific experience, and it certainly was, but I see it as God’s mercy upon my life and a blessing. I saw the spirit of Glory and of God resting upon my life, and even if some may think or speak evil, I saw that He was truly glorified. It has and still is building my faith and trust in Him, and my desire to seek Him for everything, for only He knows our future.

So to the many people who don’t know the Lord, or have lost faith in Him, or who are just curious about the mark/scar on my forehead, God has used me to show His miraculous hand in my life. And that is the biggest blessing of all—to be a vessel in the Lord’s hands. It opens the door to share His love and His sufferings. When the cares of this world seems to overtake us and we don’t know where to turn, the best possible choice is to turn our eyes upon Jesus.