"I DIDN'T SAVE YOU. GOD DID."
Fireman Edward Cushing tells the story of an old frame house burning on the southside of Chicago. He ordered the hoses to start fighting the fire and then dashed inside and pulled three people out. When the blaze was over, the Chief came over and told him he did a great job but 2 of the 3 people he pulled out weren't going to make it. "No! They're all alive!"
Suddenly he awoke from the dream in a drenching sweat and his heart racing. It was 4:30 am and it was just a bad dream. He put his head back on the pillow to get some rest before he started his 72 hour shift over the Christmas holiday at the station house. He had an unseasoned crew and just prayed for the God to watch over the city that night.
One minute before Christmas, the alarm came in. The fire was a half mile from the firehouse and the old woodframe house was engulfed in flames. When Edward got to the house, he ran inside and found a body lying in the hallway. He bent over and picked up her body and carried her out. As he did, he saw a second body. It looked like a child's. He ordered a firefighter to get the child as he lay the woman down on the snowbank and checked for a pulse. There was none. He started CPR on her but no response. He ordered the firefighter to enter the house with the hose. The Chief arrived and assessed the situation and told Edward, "You'd better give up on her. She's gone." Exhausted and frightened, he silently called out to God: "God, bring her back. I've done everything I can do. Only you can help now." A split second later, he felt the woman's heart start.
And then he remembered his dream: there were three people in the house. He dashed back in the house and up the stairs. At the top, he saw the body of a small child. No pulse. He started CPR as he lifted his body and carried him down the steps outside. After the fire was out and they were putting their equipment away, the Chief returned to the scene from the hospital and informed him that the woman and the child weren't going to make it. Edward then confidently looked the Chief in the eyes and said, "Chief, no one is going to die." And both survived.
On Christmas Day, he went by the hospital to check on the mother and ended up telling her about the dream. The woman profusely thanks him for saving her and her children. And Edward responded, "I didn't save you. God did."