The Eric Metaxas Show - #74 - Joe Silva

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Today On The Eric Metaxas Show, Eric talks with Joe Silva about the heartbreaking story behind his book 19 Days Of Grace, how his wife Marianne suffered a sudden brain aneurysm, and what those final days taught him about suffering, prayer, and eternal hope. They also revisit Joe’s journey to faith, how he met his wife at Liberty, and why he says the gospel became even louder through grief, not quieter. Subscribe for clips from The Eric Metaxas Show to hear politics and culture from a Christian perspective.

Hey there, folks. On today's program, I have a very dear friend who has an absolutely amazing story. They're amazing parts to the story. He's also great at telling stories. So we're going to have fun. His name is Joe Silva. The title of his book is 19 Days of Grace. It's an astonishing story. I don't want to give away the punchline, but it's an amazing story, we'll have him in a moment. I want to remind you one of our sponsors on the program, probably our biggest sponsor, is our friend Mike Lindell. If you don't mind, if you have any pillow needs, any towel needs, towels are the best, and all kinds of other stuff. Please go to MyPillow.com. Do yourself a favor. Do America a favor. Do this program a favor by helping Mikelindel out at MyPillow.com. Obviously, if you use the promo code,

Eric, you say big. We hope you'll do that. Mypillow.com promo code, Eric. Hey there, folks. Welcome to the show. It's the Eric Metaxis show. I'm Eric Mataxis. And I get to talk to people.

Usually, they're my friends. And for example, Joe Silva, welcome the program. Thank you. I haven't seen you in a while, but you have a book out. Now, we like to joke around a lot, but the book is very serious. Yes, it is.

It doesn't mean we can't joke because we worship a God who exhorts us to be joyful, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. But I've known you for a while. I knew your wife. This book is about the passing of your wife. When I first heard about this, there are certain things that are not believable. So where do we start?

Let's tell us the story. Yeah, she, her name is Marianne, Mary Ann Grace. Silver. So if you notice the title of the book is 19 days of grace, the story of love, loss, and the gift of eternal life. So I was away on a business trip, two-week business trip, and the day before I was to come home, we had spoke that morning. We did some Bible devotions together over the phone like we always did when I was away and when I was home too. And I had a text exchanged with her about 4.30 that afternoon on the 19th of July, 2021. And then that night, she suffered a brain aneurysm. And I got a phone call from my daughters who were on a three-way

call with me and telling me that the paramedics were at the house and that mommy was unconscious. How old are your kids? Well, at that time, there were adult children. My oldest daughter at the time was 25, Holly. Ashley was, I believe, 21, and Joey, my youngest, was 19. And I was away on this business trip for two weeks. Scheduled to come home on the next day, Monday. And I'm sorry, on Tuesday, the 20th. And on the 19th, she suffered this brain aneurysm. She was healthy. I mean, she had no symptoms. She was out that day running around trying to get the house cleaned up, get it ready. My son and Marianne had tried to surprise me. They were working on my home office, completely renovated my home office. My son built me a new computer, and she was so excited that

I was going to be coming home. And I got that phone call, and I said, well, put the paramedics on the phone. He said, Mr. Silva, your wife's not responsive. We're going to do all we can to try to revive her and keep her alive. And I'm stuck in a hotel room in Valdasta, Georgia, in the middle of nowhere. Like two hours north of Jacksonville, about four hours south of Atlanta. That small little rinky dink airport's already closed. So I'm like, what do I do? My best bet to get home is to wait for my flight the next morning at 6 a.m.

So I was just up all night texting, putting messages out on LinkedIn, letting people know this is my situation, please pray. And that was it. And then got home, and for the next 19 days, I was at the hospital

praying that the Lord would heal her. Now, that's where... So after the aneurysm, she was alive for 19 days. 19 days, yeah. You know, and the crazy thing is a mutual friend of ours, Glenn Felty, Glenn, who I grew up with, he went, you know, went to the same home church,

Grace Church, and Clinton, his dad was the pastor when I was young. And Glenn had posted two days before this that a friend of his, a woman, 50 years old, great shape, health out in California, she died in her sleep from a brain aneurysm. So I am reading this on social media. Well, two days later, Marianne suffers a brain aneurysm. Now, the difference is, this woman, when she went to bed, she died in her sleep. Marianne was home, and she was experiencing a massive headache. And she went to my kids and said, you know, I'm having this really bad headache, and it's really killing me.

So she goes and lays down, and my son goes online and starts doing research. He goes, Mom, I think you're having a brain aneurysm. And she says, no, no, how in the world from a headache? Does your son... That's my son. Joey is a genius. He's just unbelievable. And he's always researching things.

And he just picked up on the signs. And he said, Mom, I think you're having a brain aneurysm. And she goes, no, Joey, I just need to lay down. So with that, she laid down, was up in our bedroom. And my son went to check on her. And as he's going up the stairs, she's walking out of the bedroom. And she says, my head, my head. She goes, Jesus, Jesus.

And then she just fainted into his arms. And my daughter Ashley calls 911. And then gets my daughter Holly, who happened to be down in Georgia, in Atlanta. She was working down there. And so I have them on the phone. My brother-in-law and my brother come over. And that's how it all began. But because they were there, they were able to get her to the hospital.

Right. So that's where 19 days of grace comes from, because the Lord gave us those 19 days that the whole world was watching. I posted that night in the hotel, you know, please pray for my wife. This is what's happening. And that just went viral. And for the next 19 days, the whole world was watching what's going on. And there were days that, you know, her toes moved a few times.

I would say, Marian, can you move your toes? And she would move her toes. Now, the doctors, you know, God, Bless them, they were very reserved. They're like, okay, you know, that's okay. But they weren't really, they don't want to give us false hope. Yeah. But I was praying, I'm like, hey, these doctors are great.

I trust them. I believe in them, but I believe in the great physician. And I believe that he's going to heal her. We know God could do anything. Yes. We know. Yeah. That's a fact.

It doesn't mean he will, but we know that's true. Yeah. And so you had faith during that time, which is, of course, exactly the right thing to do. You pray and you pray. And so many people, I mean, it came, it was like a lull with the whole COVID thing. So we were actually able to have like 30 people in like the waiting room because it was a law with COVID. Prior to that, what do you mean there was a law with COVID?

Well, before that, you couldn't go to the hospitals if we remember. Nobody, if you had COVID or you had somebody in the hospital, you could not go to the hospital. Nobody was allowed to go to the hospital. And this is before or after COVID. This is 2021. Oh, I'm sorry, 2021. Right. But there was leading up to that, they were still restricting how many people can go to hospitals and to public places. Two weeks after she left to go to heaven, it went back into place again where you couldn't go out, you couldn't go to hospital.

So that's another thing where there was 19 days. The Lord gave us that time that family and friends were able to come. and not only were we ministering, they were ministering to me and my family, but we were actually able to help other families. I see you, there was people from my church and family and friends that were there that were praying for other families that were going through really tragic situations as well.

But during that time, it was 19 days, I was praying, Lord, please, you know, please heal her. And in the end, you know, when the doctors called the sin, It was August 3rd. They called us into the conference room, and they said, you know, Mr. Solva, you know, gather your family that's here. And I remember sitting down in that conference room with the doctors. And my mouth was dry and my heart was beating so fast. And they said to me, you know, we did three tests today.

And unfortunately, your wife is brain dead. There's nothing else that we can do. So I'm like, well, what do you mean? there's nothing else we can do. Can we go to a different hospital? Can we try something different? And they said, no. In the state of New Jersey,

when someone is declared brain dead, that's it. We have to take her off life support. So because my wife's family was from Virginia, you know, I met her at Liberty University. Both of my in-laws were professors at Liberty. So because of that, they allowed us a couple of days

to get everybody back into town. And believe me, During that time, I was out walking around that hospital in my neighborhood, in the hospital itself, praying and asking God, please, please heal her. Because Marianne, I knew, would shout it from the mountaintops, how the Lord healed her. And, you know, obviously the Lord had had a different plan, and I had to accept that. But here's the beauty of it. when they took her off life support, and I was in the room with her,

and I cradled her, and I was asking, Lord, please heal her. And I was saying, Marian, start breathing, start breathing. Even though she wasn't healed this side of heaven, she was healed that day. And what was at that time my worst day was her greatest day. And I remember saying to her, as I was cradling her, Marian,

what you're seeing. right now. It must be unbelievable. Joe, there's so many people who listen to this program, watch this program, who do not have the faith that you have or that I have. And I want them to know

this is not extra credit Christianity. This is Christianity. You believe in Jesus, you believe in everything you're talking about, and it's real, and it's beautiful. And there's so many people I know that they can't even imagine that, you know, they're sad,

Yeah, she died. It's like, yes, but, but, you know, my dad passed two years ago. Yes. I know where he is. I'm sad. I love my dad, but to know where he is, to rejoice in that, that is real. And I just think there's so many people kind of like, they don't get it. And I'm so glad that you, now I want to ask you, because you mentioned you met Marianne at Liberty,

what's your story coming to faith? You know, a guy with a New York accent, Joe Silva, growing up in this area, when did it happen for you? Were you raised in this kind of a faith at home? Yeah, my dad and mom, they met at Clifton High School in Clifton, New Jersey as teenagers. My dad, Roman Catholic, my mom was Presbyterian. They met, they got married at a very young age, weren't able to have kids for 10 years. they tried and, you know, for whatever reason at the time, God was waiting for them to be able to have children.

And during that time, my parents got saved and they realized that, you know, it's not about a religion, it's about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. So they had some kind of a faith, but they didn't really get it. Like so many people. You know, because, you know, I'm from this area, I mean, there's people all over the country, but in this area, it's the classic thing like,

yeah, I'm Catholic, I go to church, I'm Greek Orthodox, I'm a Greek Orthodox. It's a religion. And then you get into a conversation and you realize, well, they don't get it. They don't get it. They don't, they haven't embraced it. They haven't opened their hearts. And, you know, I wouldn't say you have to leave the Catholic Church or leave the Orthodox Church or whatever.

But if you're missing that, you're missing everything. If you're missing this joy of Jesus, you're missing everything. And so it's interesting. So your parents both, they had some. some kind of an affiliation, but clearly they didn't get it. It was, something happens. It wasn't in the heart. And they surrendered to Jesus, and they gave their life to Christ, and their life completely

changed. And then they were praying for children, and then my sister came first, Joanne, then myself, Joe, and then my brother John. And we started attending Grace Church in Clifton. And that's where we really recognized that it's all about a relationship with Jesus Christ. So I was going to Sunday school. you know, summer Bible

vacationed Bible studies. So you were raised in the fake. You were raised with this. But with that said, it wasn't until I was 14 years old. I struggled in school. You know, I was always getting into trouble and problems at school. And I wasn't the best kid. And like a lot of kids, I struggled. But Mark Saracino, who was my youth leader at Grace Church in Clifter, he took me under his wing. And in 1981, when I was 14 years old, I gave my life to Christ. And that didn't mean that I became perfect. As you know, you still have your struggles. I still struggled in school.

I was a good athlete, performed really well on the football field. And my senior year at Clifton High School, I earned a couple of football scholarships to go play football around the country. One particular school was Adam State in Colorado. and the 11th hour, I went to my coach and I said, you know, and to my parents, I don't think I want to go way out to Colorado. It's too far away. Do you know of any other schools, maybe on the East Coast, that would maybe be interested in me?

So Coach Jones said, well, you know, Joe, it's kind of late in the game, but let me see what I can do. So, I don't know, a few days later, he calls me into his office and he says, I have a school that I think that you would really be interested in, and they're interested in, you, Liberty Baptist College in Lynchburg, Virginia. So next thing you know, my parents and I were going out to Liberty in Lynchburg, Virginia, driving down into the middle of nowhere. So this is the late 80s. This is 1985.

Yeah. Get down there, and they offered me a partial scholarship initially because it was so late in the game. So I get down there, and my mom's like, I don't know if you're going to like this school. You got to wear a tie. you got to dress, you know, like you're going to church. And I'm like, I don't know, when I got there, I just felt like this is where I was supposed to be. And I ended up going to Liberty.

And that first year, 1985, Liberty Baptist College became Liberty University. And up until that time, it was the largest freshman class who came out of that. You know, that time I was down there, D.C. talk. I remember being in chapel, and all of a sudden, Jerry Forewell, Sr., gets up and says, we got three students that are going to get up right now and they're going to do a little what they call rap music. And next thing, you know, here they come, what then became DC talk. It was such a great experience. I remember my high school coach saying to me, Joe, no matter what happens, whether you play all four years or not, you're going to meet your wife at this college.

Now I'm 17 years old. I'm thinking, all right, coach, I hope to meet a lot of girls, but my wife, I'm 17 years old. Right. So next thing you know, I go down there, I struggled all my classes. I was failing them because I was trying to play football and go to class. So I walked away from my scholarship. And I remember saying to my parents, I'm done with school, I'm done with football, I just want to come home, I want to work. And my parents were like, well, why don't you like one of the local colleges around here? Don't give up on that. I'm like, no. So I came home and I got a job delivering dairy products, milk, eggs, butter.

I used to go all around New York and Jersey, all the bodegas and restaurants and deliver all these products. And during that time, I'm like, I don't know if this is the best thing for me. I want to go back to school. I met so many great friends. I got to tell you, the thought is like, this is hilarious. The thought of you at Liberty, right? Student at Liberty, going to like have a dairy route in Jersey driving a truck or whatever.

It couldn't be more different. Like it's unbelievable, totally different universes. So while you're doing this, you're starting to think. God puts on my heart, you know, like, you know, you can do better than this. And he wanted me to go back to Liberty. So I ended up going back to Liberty, got myself back on track. I actually even tried out for the team again. I said, I'm going to walk on.

I want to see if I still have that in me, but I lost that desire. And I knew, like, for me to succeed in school, I had to focus. Right. And here was a guy, me, that should have been left back multiple times in grammar school when I was growing up. My dad was a school teacher in the city of Clifton. And I always went to summer school, remedial help, and I was advanced. So now at Liberty, I'm focusing.

Right. And because, you know, you're such a scholar. could appreciate this. Yale, right? Yeah. I didn't go to Yale, but I went to Liberty, but it was still good. Liberty is a billion times better than Yale. Oh, I love Liberty. Come on.

I tell you, baby. You can't even compare. Oh, it's great. No, Liberty is one of the best universities. Without question. Anywhere. And Yale at this point is one of the worst. Let's be clear in case anybody didn't get the memo.

But so, okay, you're at Liberty. So I'm at Liberty, and I'm focusing, and I'm getting, I'm on the Dean's list. So I'm like, I'm in, I'm walking into my class and fellow students are like, that kid right there, he's doing really good in this class. And they're coming to me for help. I'm thinking to myself, you're coming to me?

So I'm doing really well and a few years past. I still haven't met Marianne. I met her mother. I met her mother my freshman year. And my mother-in-law, you meet Mrs. Mitchell, you never forget her. She was a professor at- At the time she wasn't, my father-in-law, Dr. Daniel Mitchell, theology, Dr. Theology. He was actually recruited by Jerry Fourwell Senior. He went down to Dallas

Deological Seminary and recruited my father-in-law. And in 1976, they moved to Lynchburg. He's been there, well, he's retired now. But he was there. So fast forward, you know, his kids all went to LCA, the Christian Academy at Liberty. And I hadn't met Marianne yet, but I met my mother-in-law. I remember walking into the guidance office. And she was working. at that time in the guidance office, and that's when I met her. So fast forward, it's December, 1989. And remember my freshman year,

I had really no credits to show for. I stayed out one whole year, so now I'm finally trying to catch back up to, you know, all my other classmates when I first started, they were already graduating. Me, I took the long route to get there, but I got it. So December, 1989, a couple of buddies of mine, we're going to go to Roanoke at the time.

That's like outside of Lynchburg. Let's go to Roanoke. So my one buddy said, hey, before we leave, I got to stop to the mall and drop something off with my sister. So, all right, so we're at the mall. And instead of sitting in the car waiting for him, we're like, let's go in. We'll go in. So we walk into the mall, and it was a place called Kirkland. It was a little knick-knack-type place where they sell all different things.

And we walk into Kirklands, and my buddy goes to find his sister. And as I walk in, I see this beautiful woman. I'm like, wow, who's that? So not being a shy guy, I walk up to her, and I said, hey, are you a Liberty student? And she goes, yeah, I am. She goes, are you? I said, yeah. I said, I thought so.

I said, if I buy something from my mom, when you give me your phone number, what kind of line is that, right? I'm like, you know, and we always joked about that because she had never met anybody as aggressive, you know, as I was. I did it in such an aggressive way, but she wasn't used to that. And I said, you know, I want to buy something from my mom, and can he show me a few things? And then, you know, I'd like to get your phone number. Well, at the time, she was dating somebody. And something that really struck me was she said,

well, I'm dating somebody right now. I said, well, are you really serious? Are you guys, like, going to get married? And she said, no, she goes, but let me ask you a question. If you and I were dating and somebody approached me and asked me for my phone number, would it would be right for me to give my number to that person? And I'm like, no, you're right, you're right.

And that really struck something with me because, like, wow, she has integrity and she's not, you know, even if that relationship wasn't great, she wasn't going to give me her number. So I said, I tell you what, you go to liberty, I go to liberty. When I come back, I'm going to look you up. And if you're not dating that guy, can we go out? And she goes, well, okay. So I came back for one of those one week intensives, you know, where you go for five days, all day, and then you have credits at the end of the week. So I get there first day, I'm in religion hall at Liberty.

It was a religion class I was taken. And I'm walking down the hallway, and who do I see, but Marianne? So I go up to her and I said, you're still dating that guy and just said, no, I'm not. I said, well, you remember the deal? We're going to go out. on a Monday, we went on her first date, January 18th, 1990. We went on her first date, and then two years later, I proposed to her on the same day, January 18th, 1992 in Central Park. Had my in in-laws come up, my mother and father were there, we went to Tavernon on the greenland.

We're in Central Park. Well, the fountain, right by the fountain. Bethesda. Yep. That's a sacred place. Yeah. You know that's the angel of the waters at the top there. That's why it's called, wow. So we went to see City of Angels. It was a show on Broadway. The night before, I went to find who I wanted to be our horse and buggy carriage rider. And I found this guy as in it was Irish Joe.

And I go up to him and say, hey, I heard that you're the best guy around. And I remember getting a little bit of money. I said, will you be here tomorrow? I'm getting engaged. And I want you to be the driver. So they said, yeah. So my in-laws had come up. We go to see the show.

And then my parents went on with my future in-laws to Tavern on the Green to meet us for dinner. And then we got on the horse and buggy route, right, got engaged. He drops us off at Tarrant on the Green and celebrate it with my in-laws and my parents. And then we went back to my house in Jersey. Now, just how confident I was that she was going to say, yes. Had a house full of family and friends waiting for us. And we celebrated. We've been dating for two years.

I think it's time. Yeah. And then November of 1992, we got married. So we were married November 14th, 1992. And then fast forward, you know, we, I was working here in the city at a place called Cardio Fitness down on Maiden Lane. My degree from Liberty was exercise physiology, studying health and wellness. Right, right.

So two years into it, she was working out at a doctor's office in Jersey. And we moved eventually from Clifton to Wayne, New Jersey. And we had our three children and life was great. And then started working on a place in the medical sales industry, very successful. Back in 2007, I met Kenny Luck from Saddleback Church. And he had a men's ministry at his church. and it really gave me the desire to have a men's ministry at my church. And then with that, and this is where some of the people that we both know,

I met Joe Pellegrino. I met Joe Pataglia, you know, Michael Franziz had him come and speak at the church. And I was like, you know what? I'm doing so well in the medical sales industry, doing really well. But what am I doing for the kingdom? And in 2007, when I turned 40 years old, that's when I made the decision. You know what? I'm surrendering.

I'm going to give everything to the Lord. and just focus in on men's ministries and just doing all I can. Got involved with a lot of faith-based initiatives, films and all that stuff, and met all these different people like yourself and so many people through doing this. But let me tell you, so much,

when you get in the game of life, specifically as a Christian, there's a lot of people who sit on the sidelines. Satan doesn't care about you because you're not in the game. but when you make a decision that I want to surrender and I want to follow Christ, man, that's when that spiritual warfare comes after you.

But what people don't realize, this is what cracks me up, you were made for that warfare. You were made for that. That's not extra credit. God made you, every one of us, for that. And if you're not in that, you're missing it. You're missing it.

So it's tough, but God made you for that battle. I mean, so, you know, you were 40 when you kind of decided to jump in. Yeah. But I want to make sure we only have a few minutes left that we get to the, to what's in the book. So make the leap here to the book. I mean, keep saying what you want to say, but I want to make sure. I mean, all that stuff is like, you know, making this decision, you know, to follow Christ, giving my life completely to him, surrendering.

Even though I was saved at 14, now I'm 40. And it's like, now is, I really got to start doing more for the kingdom. And that's when I started meeting all these people. I'm like, this is it. Maybe God is going to take me in this direction. Going to the NRB, meeting people like Erskine that we both know. And so many other people, I'm like, this is it. You know, the Lord's going to have me doing all of this stuff.

But all of a sudden, I'm getting all these attacks. And then in 2017, I lost my job of almost 24 years in the medical sales industry. I was there for almost 25. years and I lost that job because our company got dragged into a massive lawsuit and we had to lay off 70% of the company and eventually my number came up where all right this guy's been around for a long time. It makes high income. We got to get rid of him. And next thing you know I'm out and then who is there completely by my side every time all the highs and lows is my wife Marianne. She I used to sometimes get mad at her

because she would never get angry. Here I am, I'm like, you know, my temper. I'm like, this is ridiculous. This guy did that to me. That guy did that to me. She would always, you would never know if I had just got the biggest promotion or if I lost my job.

If you talk to her, she's just so like I'm trusting Lord. And when I would get upset, she'd say, Joe, go and get away with God. You need to get away with God. And she would pray over me, pray over my family, pray over my kids. And then I'm struggling now. I lose my job.

then I get a couple of side jobs just trying to make some extra income draining my life savings to try to keep everything as normal as possible two of my three kids are at liberty trying to pay the bills trying to trust the Lord trust the Lord and say where am I supposed to be and then COVID hits 2020 and all those opportunities I had went away and now here we are at home my wife my three adult children the best year of my life. Do you know why? Because all of us were together. There we are watching movies together, you know, praying together, ordering food and sitting down and as a family spending that time together.

Little did I know that would be the last year that we would all be together. So 2021 rolls around. And the beginning of that year was, you know, my daughter Ashley was going to be graduating from Liberty, Holly had already graduated. My son had graduated from high school.

He was still kind of figuring out what he wanted to do. And the beginning of that year was like, what does God have for me? And I was introduced to a company that sells glass machines that lift and install heavy glass. Now, I had no idea what that was, but a friend introduces me to somebody. And next thing, you know,

I'm the sales and marketing manager for a company called Glazer Nation. And glazing is when they put windows in And I had no idea what that was. When the guy called me and says, yeah, we do glazing. I'm thinking like, what a glazed donut? What does that mean? I had no idea what that means.

But here you know, I'm now selling the marketing for this big campaign to help promote this glazer company. And I'm traveling back and forth from Jersey down to Virginia because they were based in Douglas, Georgia. So I had to fly from Jersey to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Valdasta. And then I get picked up and they drive me to Dalyze. Douglas George. And that's when you were on the road when this incident happened. So I'm traveling. Like I said, that first half of the 2021, you know, work plus going to like friends' weddings

and all these special things. I got to travel with Marianne. Went down to Liberty to see my daughter graduate, went to see Joe Bataglia's wedding. We were doing all these things. The first half of 2021 was so different than the second half. but I'm with Marianne and we're like looking forward to the next chapter of life. Our kids now are graduating and in relationships and eventually going to be married. We're like now this is the time for us to enjoy our life together.

And I was going to be on this trip for two weeks and I remember it was July 6th. And Marianne was always about taking photos. If you look in the book, there's a photo of she and I. She's always like, let's take a picture. Let's take a picture. In the very beginning of the book, you'll see there's a photo of us. It's the last photo that we took together. And we were on my front steps, and it was the morning of July 6th.

I went on the trip down to Virginia, down to Georgia. And again, during that time, Marianne, anytime I would travel, she would always write me a note. And that notes also in that book as well. I see. I see right here. Yeah. Yep, and that's the photo of us. And then when I got to the hotel that night,

that letter was in my briefcase. And I always looked for her notes. You either do a card or a note. And she would just say that she was praying for us and praying for me while I was away. And I always looked forward to that. So I'm away now on this trip, and I'm not going to be coming home until July 20th.

And while I'm down there, you know, just doing work, We spoke every day on the phone, and then fast forward to what I described earlier, July 19th, that day we spoke in the morning. She actually, she shared with me something. She listened to a, or watched a video, Priscilla Shire, about the full armor of God. And she shared that video with me. So I'm down there and I'm watching this video. So what was that about?

putting on the full armor of God, be prepared. The day before and a week leading up to this, God had put on my heart a couple of things like preparing me for what was to come. On July 13th, I'm out for my walk down here in Georgia, and I'm walking around, and God puts on my heart, husbands, love your wives like Christ loves the church. I'm thinking to myself, well, okay, I can do better as a husband. I can do better in my life.

I posted it on Facebook. Hey, my Christian brothers, love your wives like Christ loves the church. That's on July 13th. July 18th, the day before, the aneurysm. God puts on my heart. What needs to be taken from your life in order for you to be all that you can be

for me and my glory? I post that on Facebook. Now, what does that mean? I know exactly what it meant. The Lord knew. He didn't do it, but he didn't do it, but he knew it was going to happen the next day. Right.

That you were going to have to be the best husband up until that point that you've ever been with Marianne being prepared to be her advocate, to be her voice. And then, Joe, if Marianne is taken from you, what are you going to do? Are you going to still love me? Are you going to still praise me? Are you going to just like Joe? And he didn't cause it to happen, but he knew it was going to happen.

So I look back on that, and it's in the book I talk about that. Like, if God takes, if something's taken from your life, what are you going to do? Are you going to trust him that he has a plan? And the reason I wrote this book is because I wanted to honor her and her legacy. I wanted to gift my children and, God willing, future grandchildren, so they can hear all about this beautiful, godly woman and know their grandmother. and mother that's now in heaven. But, you know, what do you do with that pain?

When something like this happens, how can you use that pain and find purpose in it? So while this was all happening, you know, when she was in the hospital for 19 days, all these people were following this story. And they're sending me messages. And they're like, you know, we're praying for you. And I had so many people who would say,

you know, oh, my uncle or my cousin had something similar, and they're perfectly fine now. They're good. Don't worry about it. But I want it more so than anything. Just like my family and so many of my friends, they wanted her to be healed. And we know that if she would have been healed this side of heaven,

she would have been with you right now. And seeing right here talking to you about how God is so good and how he healed. But you know what? She's still sending that same message. He's still good. Yeah. Listen, this is, we're basically at a time.

But Joe, I got to tell you, I have a book coming about the American Revolution, and there's a story right in the beginning. It makes me think of Charlie Kirk. Joseph Warren was like the great young leader of the whole thing. And he gets taken out in the first, the Battle of Bunker Hill. And they're just, their minds are reeling. how can this be? How can this be? How can this be? How can this be?

And Samuel Adams, who has, he was a rock of faith, he almost rebukes people in a letter and saying like, we must submit to the dispensations of God. Right? In other words, he's not, like, our instinct is to be like, well, God, how can you get?

And he's like, we have to submit to the God. We praise the Lord in all circumstances. what you're saying, that's what this book says, but that's real faith, right? To know that no matter what happens, we praise God. He knows things we don't know. He has the answers that we, you know, we think we know. It just gives me joy to see you have that kind of faith. It really gives me such joy. I believe without any shadow of a doubt, and I believe in my heart. I know, I know, I know that she is more alive right now in heaven. And you and I are. are right now on this earth.

That's a fact. And heaven is a lot closer than we think. And I truly believe that, you know, my prayer is that, and I know so many people have already reached out to me during that time and even now that have said, hey, we watched you, we watched your family, we watched the people around you. And you didn't get the answer, but you know what?

It impacted me. Husbands calling me and saying, hey, I'm a better husband because I watched what happened. wife saying, I want to be like Marianne to my husband. People rededicating their lives to Christ, people giving their lives to Christ. And I know in that book, I share the gospel, and it's Jesus throughout that whole book. And the thing about Marianne, she never wanted any of the glory. And I can tell you right now that she throws her crown at the footage of Christ.

That's how she was on this earth. And that's how she's in heaven. And she always wanted that message to be clear. And it's louder now that it's ever been. And those 19 days that she was in that hospital bed, she never said one word, but she said lots of things without even saying one word. She impacted. And she gives God all the glory, as do I.

Praise the Lord. It's just a joy to hear the story from you. The book is 19 Days of Grace, a Story of Love, Loss, and the Gift of Eternal Life. 19 Days of Grace, Joseph Silva, my friend, my brother, God bless you. Thank you for being my guest today. Thank you. Thank you. While the corrupt federal elites have been quietly building wealth through cryptocurrency, hardworking American patriots have been left behind. Today, I want to tell you about metaxis crypto.com.

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