The complete dependence on God, which I learned during my
first car wreck, helped me to survive the devastation of divorce and to settle
into a new life back in my home town.
About a year later, I drove home from work on my usual route,
but my mind played a trick on me. Confusing the traffic light at the next street
with the light in front of me, I ran a red light.
A large, commercial van t-boned my car, pushing the
driver’s-side door twelve inches into the space where I was seat-belted behind
the wheel.
Needless to say, my bones started breaking, one of them punctured
my lung, and my head ricocheted back into the window. This impact shattered
glass into my face, gave me a concussion and knocked me out.
Waking up in the hospital, I learned that my little
finger had a compound fracture and 11 of my ribs broke in the impact. I had
bruises and lacerations all over the left side of my body.
After getting shuffled around through excruciating x-rays
and tests, I told the doctor I was through being tortured, and I wanted to go
home.
Smiling to himself, he promised to send me home when my punctured lung
healed. He informed me that most people with only a few broken
ribs find it hard to breath, so I should be under an oxygen tent for a few
days.
I declined His offer and slept in the chair overnight, because the only
time I experienced pain was reclining or sitting up from a prone position.
From that same chair, I greeted a surprised doctor the next
morning when he made his rounds. He had to keep his promise to send me home. Not only did I have no pain, I also had plenty of oxygen in my body and a
healed lung.
At my follow-up appointment the next week, my astonished doctor admitted that prayer and God’s grace were the only reasons I
was not still in a hospital bed and under an oxygen tent. He released me to go back
to work as a bookkeeper for my brother’s business.
God used this experience to bless my life in so many ways.
The most important was God's mercy to save my life once again.
The second benefit was that my fiancé’s love for me never
diminished, even though I could have won the prize in a Frankenstein’s sister’s
“look alike” contest.
Kevin, my parents and my three brothers did everything
they could to make my life as easy as possible. Together, we witnessed God's
amazing healing power.
Though I slept in a recliner for three months until my ribs mended enough to lay down in a bed, I never had to take even one pain
pill (Psalm 107:2).
Prayer:
Father God, the tiny piece of glass still lodged under
the skin of my face is a constant memorial of Your glory and grace. The few
ribs, which healed at angles, still poke my muscles to remind me that You hold
the power of life and death in Your hands (Deuteronomy 32:39).
Although Satan tried again to snuff out my life, You had
plans for me, which are always for my good and for Your glory (Psalm 147:3;
Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11). Without eternity, I would never have enough time
to praise You for Your constant care for me (1 Peter 5:7).
Thought for the Day:
The unwavering love of the Lord never ceases and His
mercy and grace never come to an end; in fact, they are new every single
morning due to His great faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23
