One Accident, Many Blessings

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.  Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.  Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.  Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. (Psalm 105:1-4)

This week, I’m taking the time to look back over the last five months since my dad’s motorcycle accident.  I have been quite emotional this last week thinking about the events from these last few months.  I can’t even explain to you how difficult they have been and how much I have had to depend on the Lord.  Even as I write this, I sit here in tears.  There is nothing easy about this storm, but that’s part of why I feel I need to write about it.  I need to declare the goodness of God through this.  His faithfulness is steady and sure!  He has been God all the way through this from the first day of the accident until now.  I’m grateful that He has not left His throne but that He continues His incredible work even through the most difficult times.

So I’m going to practice something we often see in the Old Testament.  I’m going to go back through each phase of this and build an altar to God.  A place of remembrance, a place that declares God is good, and a place that can stand in my mind as a defining moment through the chaos.  I pray that as I share my heart through this story that you will find comfort from God in your own story.  May you look back over your most difficult times and find the hand of God moving.  May you be able to declare the faithfulness of God in your own life and see Him at work as you scan back over the details.

I have my box kleenexes near by and you might need yours as well.  Come with me on a journey to declare the faithfulness of God through some of my darkest hours.

April 17th, 2014, the day that changed everything.  It was a Thursday evening when I received the call.  My sister Rachel was on the other end and she gave me the worst news I think I’ve heard to date on the phone.  She shared with me that Dad had been in an accident and that he was airlifted to Saint Cloud, MN.  There are no words to adequately express the depth of pain I felt in that moment for my dad.  But at the same time I had this overwhelming peace that he was going to be okay.  God was showing me from the very beginning that Dad would come through this but that it was going to be a very long and difficult journey.  I had no idea how long and difficult it would be, but I’m so glad God prepared my heart immediately.

As I look back at the accident scene I’m filled with many questions that I could entertain…  Questions like, “Would things have been different if dad wore a helmet?  What if he was just a few minutes later?  What if the guy with a revoked license wouldn’t have been driving?”  Oh yes, the questions are there.  But just as easily as I can look back and find the questions, so also I can look back and find the blessings.  I choose to dwell on the blessings.  I choose to look back and find the hand of God moving through this.  I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and find His glory revealed through this difficult time.  As I set my mind on finding the blessings, I see that I have many to count.  I was going to do my best to come up with at least five for every post I make on this…  But as I look back, the number increases rapidly as I fix my eyes on the Author and Perfecter of my faith.  So here are the blessings I look back and reflect on at the scene of the accident…

1.  The driver (Brandon) of the other vehicle stopped to make a call to the police even though he knew he would be arrested for driving with a revoked license.

2.  Someone came quickly to my dad’s aid and talked to him until the ambulance came.  She did her best to keep dad awake.

3.  Dad had on a leather jacket and gloves which ultimately protected his arms and hands.  This is a huge blessing as dad uses his arms and hands to play guitar, draw, fish, hold his grandchildren, do his crafts, etc.  His arms were not hurt at all.  God truly protected them.

4.  The hospital responded quickly and had dad airlifted almost immediately.

5.  My sister Rachel was notified quickly and 3 of my siblings were able to get to the Saint Cloud hospital within hours of dad getting there.

6.  Dad’s prayers before the accident even happened.  God was showing him that something bad was going to happen.  This is only the second time my dad has had this feeling in his life.  The first time was when we had a fire that took our home.  He shared this prayer request with the guys in his Bible study that very morning and the Tuesday before the accident.  Prayers were being said even before the accident took place.  That can only be a God thing!

Okay, I’ll stop there and share some more blessings tomorrow.  Like I said, once I got started on this whole blessings thing I couldn’t stop.  That’s how it works.  When we start listing our blessings we find they are numerous.  God is in the details and we can trust Him with our lives.

Dear Father God, I look back at the accident and choose to see Your hand moving.  I choose to find the blessings.  I choose to dwell on who You are even in the darkest part of the storm.  Lord, I pray that You will ultimately be glorified through this terrible event and that the name of Jesus will be lifted high.

Counting my Blessings,