A few years ago I heard this testimony from a local CEO , who is running a very successful software company for better transparency and security for the finance sector and legal sector. The company recently acquired a division of JP Morgan.
The CEO wearing a haircut making people thinking he is still in his early 30s, yet he is a father of two teenage children. He told us a story about his faith soft and gently .
He was first a professional skier and competes nationally. He grew up in a Christian family but was not very close to God, until he was 7 years ago. At that time he had already a couple companies, had a house in Los Gatos, both children in private school. But he wants to get close to God and he prayed sincerely, giving his life to him. Then series of things had happened.
September 11 came. At the time when he was in a building facing the twin towers. He, through the glass window, watched the devastating scene. Then he saw people came afterwards, weep and prayed together regardless race, cultural, etc. He, everyone else nearby, was hard to get not touched by it. This may be what God want us to be one day.
His company suffered from loss of business but managed to survive to the end of 2002, when there is offer to buy the company from a multinational firm. All transaction is planned to be on cash, all the employee are continue to work for the company. It is an offer everyone is happy about and nothing could go wrong.
February the following year, when he tried to pick up paper from copy machine, he suddenly had a very bad migration and was sent to emergency, was diagnosed with something in the brain (a birth defect). Doctors can only do a operation when the defect grows bigger but he could die instantly in the process because of the location.
The offer to buy the company backed out because he is supposed to run the company after it is bought. He had to take equity from his house to extend the life of the company but it still end of close down, leaving him with no income. But he commented that is the best period of his life as he lives everyday as it is the last day, every time he talks to his wife, it is his last conversation. For people he hates in the past, does not anymore.
The doctor told him if he has a problem of swallowing then gets in right way for the operation. The operation would be 50/50 life/death chance and with 100% certainty he is going to be paralyzed on his left side of the body for the rest of his life. There are only two persons in the whole United States can perform this operation and one is at Stanford University. To make the long story short, he was able to raise his left arm after the 5th time he was waken up in the ICU, doctors felt they won a lottery. But painful recovery process has started. He could choose not do the operation if he had known how painful the recovery process. It took him 6months to twig his left toe, took another sometime not drew through his mouth, took him about two years to walk…He suffers severe side effects from the operation, had to be sent to hospital twice a year….His children just started their teenage years.
When I saw listening to him, he is perfectly healthy man. Still today, his case was well studied by all neurosurgeon in residence at Stanford, nobody believes he could recovers this well because of the location of the operation.
God also provided them financially. He did not elaborate much, but I can image he is essentially with no income, no healthcare during the 2-3 year period. He mentioned there is one day he and his wife were going through the bills and there were 3xyz amount was lacking and door bell run, a check with exact that amount arrived. There are times there were 7000 cash in their mailbox appeared….He summarized that he and his family was constantly provided going through that process.
A few years ago, he put another business proposal together and people who had invested in him in the past, invested in him again. Now we see him as a successful CEO with a growing company in this economy.
He delivered the testimony with the purpose to everyone hope. Quoting from, he managed through it is not because his personal faithful, it is because God is faithful to us.
There are many elements in his story makes people reflecting upon.
He was CEO before he prayed and he is a CEO today. What I learned that God sometimes just want us to be his living testimony. Borrowing what our pastor, you and me are living youtube.
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