Truth from the Trenches by Melissa Hart 

 

On a hot July day the phone rang and I let it go to voicemail. I was busy. It was close to chore time and I had to get ready to head outside. I listened to the voicemail and realized I did have time for this call. It was my sister-in-law explaining my brother had been in a car accident, and it wasn’t good.

When we arrived at the hospital we entered the room where he laid on a bed, waiting for surgery.

His entire right side was riddled with broken bones and he needed surgery to stabilize his foot, ankle and arm.

With smears of blood on his face and smashed glass in his forehead, he told my mom she still had one son left and it wasn’t his turn to go.

The days and weeks that followed were long for a man who “shouldn’t have made it out of that wreck alive.” Superman, Man of Steel and A Living Miracle were names that were tossed around his bedside at the hospital. Food, fellowship and gifts of all kinds flooded in for the family as they forged ahead over this unexpected mountain.

After several surgeries, answered prayer and pure determination he is on the road to recovery and, for a person who shattered his foot, broke his ankle, femur, pelvis, arm and a few ribs, he is entering into this holiday season with a different perspective.

From driving down the expressway one minute to hearing the whirling sounds of a Life Flight helicopter the next minute and leaving traffic jammed up for hours in his wake, you can’t help but question why anyone would make it out of this kind of wreckage alive.

The demolished sight of his truck turned the stomachs of those who slowly weaved around the accident scene, leaving them to wonder how many funerals would result.

But not this time. Not this accident.

Just what exactly does God have in mind after an event that should have resulted in pure agony? We don’t know yet, but we do know while the accident was harmful to my brother and his family, God is redeeming it for something magnificent. And just like two young, unwed, expectant parents more than 2,000 years ago were met with resistance and ugliness in a situation that looked rebellious and unredeemable on the outside, God turned it into an irresistible event that is celebrated and still changing lives today.

As we enter into the holiday season with high expectations and underwhelming circumstances, let’s remember we have no promise of tomorrow. Let the booming voices of perfection and abundance blow by and, instead, look for the still moments of tenderness and quiet with those you value. It’s early December, there is still time to reclaim the holiday season from the commercialistic pied piper. Let go of the harmful, holiday chaos and allow God to revolutionize your Christmas until it resembles peace on earth and good will toward men.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.