If you have not yet heard about Jonathan's health scare, I have copied what Lauren shared publicly below. Many of you have been asking how you can support the Johnson family as he recovers and I wanted to share a very practical way to carry out the scripture Galatians 6:2 that instructs us to bear one another's burdens. The Johnson's will not only have medical bills from his time in the hospital, but he will also need time to recover before going back to work fully and they will need to continue seeking out care from specialists to get back in tip top shape!
My prayer is that we can bless them abundantly during this time so that none of this will be a setback or burden on their family.
If you know the Johnson's, you know that they have given countless hours and much of their own resources to supporting survivors of trafficking through their work with Release Sara. They have blessed others so richly and now it's our time to bless them.
Thank you for your gift of any amount. May the Lord bless you richly for your generosity!
From Lauren:
"We will remember the epic 250th Independence Day in an entirely different way than we ever expected. 
On Friday afternoon, I rushed Jonathan to the ER after his blood pressure skyrocketed and he started having stroke-like symptoms. We were hoping it was something that looked like a stroke but wasn’t. After many tests, a couple CT scans, and finally an MRI, we got the news we had been praying we wouldn’t hear—Jonathan suffered a stroke.
The stroke was in his left thalamus, the part of the brain that affects sensation and coordination, so the right side of his body has been dealing with numbness, tingling, and loss of coordination. His speech and memory were thankfully not affected, but watching him go from a healthy, active 43-year-old to needing a walker and assistance just to walk a few steps was heartbreaking.
But God.
We see many ways in which God walked ahead of us on this journey and every day has been better than the one before.
He’s relearning how to walk, type, text, eat, and do the simple, everyday tasks. He’s working incredibly hard, and we’re already seeing his brain begin to rewire itself. With my academic background, I know the science behind neuroplasticity. As a believer, I can’t help but stand in awe of the God who designed our brains with the ability to heal after injury. It’s incredible to watch it happen in my husband’s body and I’m full of gratitude to HIM for His gracious design.
The pictures are just little snapshots of these last few days.
The kids were able to come love on their dad in the hospital and Oakley had some funny questions for him like “Will they have to cut off your head to rewire it then reattach it?” It’s amazing what goes through their minds.
The Rummikub picture was actually my creative therapy disguised as a game (although Jonathan somehow still beat me… even with a stroke). I made him give a thumbs-up with his right hand—the affected side—since he won.
Coloring, writing, dot to dot, and word search are other ways he is working on his coordination and fine motor skills to be able to get back to work and normal life.
Recovery is happening one small victory at a time.
One huge answer to prayer is that we are getting to go home today! They originally wanted to send him to inpatient rehab for a week, but because he’s made so much progress already, they now feel comfortable sending him home with home health PT and OT before transitioning to outpatient therapy. Praise the Lord!
I guess it’s finally time to dust off my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree and knock the cobwebs out of my brain because I’ll officially be Jonathan’s live-in PT for a while. After paying for me to go through doctoral school during our first few years of marriage, he might finally be getting his money’s worth.
These last few days have been overwhelming, exhausting, and emotional, but they have also been filled with the kindness of so many people. Thank you to everyone who has prayed, texted, visited, helped with our kids, stepped in at Root + Gather for our Freedom Day celebration, covered responsibilities in his work and my ministry, and simply reminded us we aren’t carrying this alone.
We are so grateful for every prayer. As we begin this next season, we’d love for you to keep praying.
Please pray for complete healing and restoration of Jonathan’s sensation and coordination. Pray for patience as recovery will likely take months. Pray that he can truly rest without feeling the weight of work and finances. Anyone who knows Jonathan knows how deeply he serves his clients and provides for our family. I’m praying he can trust that the same God who has carried us through this weekend will continue to provide for everything ahead.
More than anything, pray that through all of this, Christ would be glorified and He would draw us all closer to Him through this experience.
We don’t know why this happened, but we know Who is walking with us through it. God has been faithful every step of the way, and we trust He’ll continue to be."
