August 2, 2022 – Click here to listen
Thanks to the many people who have prayed for our neighbor’s 20-year-old grandson who broke his back in an ATV accident last week. As an update he is still in ICU and after one operation so far, they have not been able to determine whether he will ever walk again. He is awake and the first operation revealed that the spine was not severed but two vertebrae were badly fractured and repaired during the surgery. He has begun eating on his own, primarily small portions of soup, and has experienced a “sensation in his hip area, so the family is encouraged. The doctor told the parents that it would be a least one year of rehab if not more, hopefully it will be spent learning to walk on his own again. Thank you again for praying for Noah it is sorely needed at this critical time.
Since writing that original post I’ve had several readers reveal similar experiences with their own children or those whom they know. Some accidents proved to be fatal. I felt led to warn you today that the unsupervised use of these vehicles can be dangerous even to grown-ups. A man at my former Honey Lake Plantation was killed on one when he lost control going around a curve on a gravel road bordering our property line. I came upon him shortly after he slammed into a pine tree which killed him instantly. It was not a pretty sight. He was speeding and had been drinking.
I always pause and think about how sudden events like this are. One moment everyone is laughing and having a great time and the next tragedy strikes. I cannot imagine the grief entailed by the parents of this 20-year-old who wants to study to become a surgeon. The parents had just purchased the jazzed-up ATV for him a few days beforehand. The other three kids that were riding on the vehicle including his twin brother were badly injured too but are out of the hospital. Imagine how the entire family must feel. My heart goes out to them and the grandparents whose farm they were racing around on.
Plenty of tears have been shed since this accident and I look forward to heaven where there are no tears, or sadness, or trouble of any kind. As the old song says, “There will be peace in the valley for me one day”. But first we must get through this life. The best way I have found to do that is to draw close to the Lord. He loves us in bad times and good times, and both are meted out to us daily.
I had a really bad bad day yesterday with more than my share of terrible news. I was determined not to allow it to get me down however, and I just tried to focus on happier times and all the many blessings God has bestowed upon me beginning with my salvation. And with that I put the bad out of my mind and am still smiling. Try it the next time you get caught in a downward spiral.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
When things are going well for you, be glad, and when trouble comes, just remember: God sends both happiness and trouble; you never know what is going to happen next.