Brian Florence – A Life Marked by God’s Protection
My name is Brian, and I was blessed to grow up in a strong Christian home. I accepted Christ at seven years old, but as I got older, I sometimes wondered what kind of “testimony” I could possibly have that would help someone else. With time, I saw that having a Christ-centered family was a major blessing and that God’s guidance shaped my life in unexpected ways.
In 1997, while on vacation in Florida, I slipped on a wet stairwell and fell. After returning home, I struggled to rest. My wife noticed that I woke up in the middle of the night confused and unable to answer simple questions. By the time we reached the hospital, I had suffered a stroke that affected the entire left side of my body. Doctors also discovered multiple blood clots in both of my lungs. A single clot can be fatal—yet I had several. God spared my life and restored every bit of movement I had lost.
Then in 2019, I faced another lifethreatening emergency. My heart suddenly went into ventricular tachycardia—“VTach”—racing at over 200 beats per minute instead of the normal 70–80. My heart couldn’t refill with blood, meaning no blood was circulating through my body at all. This condition typically leads to cardiac arrest and is often fatal. Once again, I should not have survived. But God protected me, and with the help of a pacemaker, my life was preserved.
Each of us chooses how we respond to the challenges we face. Every day, I choose to praise God—for life, for His protection, for His provision, and for keeping my family together through every trial. My trust remains in Him, because He is still on the throne and still in control.
Brian Florence
