After a warning from God of having something terrible happen, Lanessa knows delivering her fourth boy might end in tragedy. Moving around courtesy of the Army, she finds herself with an illness that could be very damaging to every part of her. Fighting her way back to the land of the living, she tells a story about hearing, feeling, and seeing Christ in the midst of her trial. Restored to the Land of the Living By Lanessa Allman AuthorHouse Copyright © 2009 Lanessa Allman All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4389-8052-2 Chapter One I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, save me!" The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 116:1-9 I loved being back home in Texas. Taking leave for Christmas, my husband, Jason, and our three little boys, Parker, Banner, and West got to spend a lot of family time together over the holidays. We were soon moving from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to Fort Rucker, Alabama, and we knew with Jason's new assignment, things would get busy and we might not get to see family as often as we would like. Jason had to leave Texas early for training, and I, being pregnant, decided to stay back at my parent's house for some extra family time. The boys, ages 4, 3, and 2, got lots of attention, and I got lots of help. I was just in my first trimester, and was constantly tired and nauseated, needing the break before going back home to pack for our big move in March. I was looking forward to going home however, to schedule my ultrasound, anxious to see if we would finally be having a daughter. Because this was to be our last child, Jason and I secretly wished for a girl. However, our planning never really worked in the past. We should have known. This baby was the only one that we actually planned. The other three were surprises, some bigger than others. One night, during my final week I was in Texas, I dropped the boys off at my in-laws and headed to a friend's church, where he was getting ordained as a minister. Sitting there next to my dad, during a quiet prayer time, I started praying about the many changes coming up in my life. Big changes like a new baby coming in August, a new home, and a new career for my husband. Jason had gotten accepted into the Army's flight school to learn to be a helicopter pilot. With my head bowed, sitting still on the pew, a calm voice in my head whispered to me "Be prepared, for something will happen to you soon." I took it seriously, and from that day on, was uneasy about having my fourth c-section. I continually prayed about this warning I had received, trying to discern if it was from the Lord, Satan, or perhaps my own anxieties. Hearing it several times more, I realized this was the Lord preparing me for something bad that was going to happen. Doctors had told me more than once that having so many surgeries in the same area of my body was risky. Back at Fort Campbell, I had a doctor bring me to tears after explaining all the risks and complications that could come from having this repeated surgery. Since I was in good health and had no problems with past deliveries, I didn't think much of that doctor's concern until that night. Back from our visit and after moving to Alabama, I was in the comfort of our new, large home on Fort Rucker that I was ever so excited about. Our home on post in Kentucky was extremely small and had one tiny bathroom for the soon to be six of us, not to mention the duplex was over sixty years old. So being in Alabama was exciting for me in that we had doubled our square footage and gotten a brand new house. I arranged and rearranged our furniture, and spent my days spending quality time with my boys. Jason would soon be leaving for two months to attend warrant officer training and survival school before starting flight school, in which he was eager to start. I was still uneasy about what God had laid on my heart, so I decided, just in case something did happen to me, I would write out my funeral plans. What a morbid thing to do at twenty-seven years old, but just as I was picky about my wedding, I was going to be just as picky about my funeral. After figuring out how many pallbearers were needed (this was a question that freaked my mom out), I showed Jason where my detailed plans were kept in my nightstand. He rolled his eyes and commented that I was being overly dramatic and planning a funeral was nothing he wanted to hear about, especiall