We Are Not Alone

I thought I might take a minute to catch you up on the week I've had since my last post.  I found it kind of ironic that the subject matter of my last entry was about the fun day I had hanging out with students and interns - kicking off a great summer.   The reason for that is that the following morning something horrible and wonderful happened.  Both of our college "interns" and two of our high school seniors were on a trip to visit Central Bible College when they were involved in a terrible accident.  In order to avoid crashing into other vehicles on the highway, Matt was forced to steer away suddenly throwing the vehicle into a full on roll.  The car rolled four times across a four lane highway - missing all vehicles that were oncoming.   To make a long story short, they are all ok.  Two of the girls came away with just cuts and bruises and some sore muscles, one girl had a sprained ankle, and Matthew, the driver had a pretty serious head injury.  Matt had to stay in the hospital one night to surgically repair the wound to his head and was allowed to go home the next morning.  He has a long road of recovery and more surgeries to get his wounds healed properly, but no words can describe how very thankful I am that they are all alive and with us.  The truth is that if Matthew had not had the quick thinking and reaction that he did, I believe we would have lost some of them that day.  

 I found it also ironic that just a few days prior my good friend Cheryl called to tell me that her husband, also a very close friend of our family, had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident.  You'd have to know Jerry to know that he would be fine to ride his Harley down the highway at night with no helmet.  Cheryl knows this too, but that night she felt an urgency to have him promise to wear his helmet and he agreed.  Thankfully he did, because that night on his way from Colby to Pratt, KS, he swerved to hit one deer, missed it, and "t-boned" the next.  Jerry says his bike laid down on the highway and proceeded to slide 250 feet. He said he let go about half way, slamming his head into a metal pole that pierced his helmet, barley cutting his head.  He came out with a good amount of road rash on his arm and a broken finger, walking away from an accident that should have cost him his life, and normally would have had Cheryl not listened to the gentle urging of the Holy Spirit.  

 The truth is that there are many stories like this in my life, and maybe one day I'll come to tell them all.  I find it hard to understand the people who do not believe that our every step is ordered by God.  I am so thankful for His protection on these dear friends of mine.  I thank Him every morning that I did not have to suffer their loss.  

If you know us well, you know that we are going through a trying time in our lives right now.  It kind of has the same irony as the wreck of our students: horrible and wonderful.  Over a year ago, God led us to this amazing city to serve in, and there is no place in the world I'd rather be.  I am so thankful that we are here, yet at the same time, we still struggle hard as our home in Indiana still remains on the market, unsold.  It is hard for our family, emotional, mentally, financially, etc. However, it is stories like these that I've just told that put my heart at ease about this situation with our house, because it's at these times I'm reminded that we are not alone.