A short time ago Kim Simmons was "just being the mom," (a phrase lovingly coined by her children), when life-changing events led her to tell a story that begins with a parent's deepest dread - the death of one of her children. She writes with a God-given skill and insight to record a tale that has to be shared with others - a series of events that can only have one true Source. The story grows from one of deep despair into one of great gratitude for the true Author of this story. A family is healed and the truth is more awesome than fiction when God works out the details.
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Watch this video overview
"Oh, God, please don't let this be just another statistic. If he must go, please use this in some way to glorify Yourself."
That was the prayer of a heartsick father on April 23, 1998, as his family stood by the bed of his firstborn son. Jason Simmons died later that morning from injuries sustained in a head-on collision
Author Kim Simmons wrote "Lifted up from the deep" to chronicle the chain of events that followed as God answered that father's prayer.Kim unfolds layers that begin in despair and end with the celebration of the miraculous power of God's healing love. Along the way she tells of wonders that surely must come from the hand of a Master, and in many cases she then produces photo evidence to verify her witness.
The arrival of a white dove on the first morning and a surprising connection to a stranger in Rio De Janeiro are just two examples from a long list of "graces" that are woven throughout. Those "graces" rangefrom the common but perfectly-timed, to those that are much more than common. All of them combined leave little room for doubt that God really is and that He really does love us.
Telling this story from a mother's heart, she employs what one Florida poet calls "a beautiful prose style" that he compares to "a personal letter from a very dear friend." She delivers a message of hope and healing designed to lift up those who must deal with the loss of a loved one. We all fit in that category sooner or later.
Kim and her husband Dave have three children - Jason, Wes and Jenny. All of them reside in this world except Jason...He lives in one much better.
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We respectfully and humbly describe this story with one of Jason's favorite words----"Awesome"----not because Kim wrote it, but because God did it and because we were allowed to witness it. We feel that it is an honor, a great joy and our duty to tell this tale of our Savior's healing love. It is our hope that we can lend comfort to the grieving that He truly is there for us, and that our story offers more evidence to the unsure that plainly, HE IS!
