We take so many things for granted in life. The sun rises and paints the east a fiery pink hue and then creates a golden glow as it sets for the night. Our kids come in and out with barely a word and maybe, if we're lucky, we get in a quick "I love you" as they fly out the door and out of sight. And what about the way the leaves turn and fall as we move from fall to winter? And then the miracle of the renaissance of spring. For us teachers, that means summer is right around the corner. Ahhhh, summer and then rest.
I guess the one thing I do take for granted is just the mundane, day-to-day moments of living that become so routine. Take our friends, for example.
A little over two weeks ago, my friend and fellow high school church group leader, Roman, experienced something no husband should have to endure. His wife Melissa, 37 and an instructor at a community college 50 miles from her home, was on her way to work when the unthinkable happened. At around 7:30 am, she fell asleep at the wheel. Her SUV flew off the well-traveled Texas highway she was on, struck an embankment, flew over 100 feet in the air, and then flipped multiple times, coming to a rest with the nose of the vehicle pointing downward. Thankfully, Melisssa was wearing her seatbelt; however, it was wrapped around her neck and strangling her.
No one knows for sure how long she was there before a trucker saw the smoke and called 911. When the Texas DPS trooper reached her, she was unconscious, bleeding, and not breathing. It was minutes before the local volunteer fire department and ambulance arrived. Realizing the extreme gravity of the situation, the LifeFlight helicopter was called from Amarillo. Meanwhile, firefighters used the jaws of life to extract Melissa from her mangled truck. From all the accounts I have heard, it was unbelievably bad.
Melissa was flown to the county hospital trauma center in Amarillo and taken immediately to surgery. She had massive swelling of the brain and the doctor told her husband she had little chance of survival. By the time I got the news in an email at work she had been in surgery for several hours. She made it through the procedure but her prognosis for full recovery was very grim.
By the time I reached the hospital that evening, the word was better, but still uncertain. For the first time since my own daughter opened her eyes after being in coma for 4 days, I felt like I could help someone through a similar circumstance. I asked Roman if he was tired of answering the same questions over and over again. He chuckled nervously as he hugged me and cried. At that moment all I could think about was my wife and how I would feel if I lost her. I've been down that road too when she had a stroke coming out of knee surgery two years earlier.
God has placed before me some amazing, life-altering events that have shaped my life. I never asked to be a counselor, but God has given me that ability through the traumatic happenings within our family.
As I look at my family, friends, colleagues, students, and neighbors I believe God is telling me to quit taking things for granted and to count the many blessings I've received. I don't deserve to have a warm home, or nice truck, or good clothes, or even the job I so often can't stand. But God has given me those earthly possessions to teach me to be a good steward. But more importantly, he wants me to be a good steward of my relationships and to never just brush them off.
Melissa is now awake, alert, and talking. She recognized and responded to her kids and husband when she first awoke, which is nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps the most eerie occurrence in this whole period happened the other day when Roman, along with several friends, visited the sight of the accident for the first time. He saw the tire tracks and the impact zone and final resting place of the SUV that fateful morning. As his eyes scoured the scene and tears welled in his eyes he noticed something half-buried in the dried tire tracks. It was a card that had fallen out of Melissa's truck and was stuck in the ground. The card had on it from Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know I the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
If that doesn't give you chills...nothing will. Don't take anything for granted. Especially not the power of God. He has plans for us, just as he has plans for Melissa.
God bless you all with safety and security.
TFR
4 comments:
So glad your friend survived and seems to be doing well.
What bible translation did that verse come from, I wonder?
King James says: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Pretty different from the one you quoted, I think. Sounds like one of those new 'feel good' translations. Sad really, how they distort the word of God.
Good blog, mate.
Didn't make me cry, but then again nothing but my job makes me do that these days. Who is Carol?
I don't believe this verse has been distorted. I choose to see the greatness of God. No matter how his word is interpreted, God's meaning prevails.
The most important element of this story is God's power to give and take life. In this case, Melissa is going to live, just like my Melissa did two years ago.
God's power can't be harnessed by mere mortals. For us to believe that just shows our humanness.
I see nothing sad in this. Melissa is alive and will recover and that's ALL that counts!!!
Praise God!!!
TFR
Wow, what an inspiring and sad story. I'm always amazed at a person's ability to overcome trauma and survive. It's strange how someone can survive something as big as this, but others die for such small things. None-the-less, keeping friends constant in your life and finding time to spend with them is always worth it. I like the quote too, it's one I didn't recognize.
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