Ashlyn was discharged from the hospital Sunday, March 12, exactly 4 weeks after her accident. I’m skeptical that anyone reading this could truly understand how miraculous that is, not unless you had been there. Not unless you had seen her that first week; broken, swollen, barely recognizable and unmoving as she lay in a coma. Not unless you had seen the car, completely mangled on the drivers side. Not unless you had heard the doctors talk about how it was a waiting game, how we had a long road ahead of us and how they had no idea what Ashlyn’s quality of life would look like after this.
Now I’m sitting at the table with her, at my parents house. We smile at each other as she looks up from the book she’s reading. She works on her physio every day, she has a walker that she uses everywhere she goes, taking the stairs is probably the most tiring part of her day. Her hands are still a bit shaky and she complains that she can’t really feel her fingers. Never the less, she sat down at the piano yesterday and started to play, fingers dancing masterfully over the keys, and my heart is so happy knowing that she’s still has the ability to do something that brings her, and so many others so much joy.
The most miraculous part, the part of her recovery that even Ashlyn is amazed by is that other than a small amount of memory loss, God has fully restored her brain. She is my sister, the same as she was before, quirky and kind, considerate and loving. How is our God, for he is able to ‘do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine’ (Ephesians 3;20).
Do not be so blind as to think, ‘Oh what a TRAGEDY’, ‘What a dreadful ACCIDENT’ or ‘What bad LUCK’. This was none of those things, it was an attack by a mighty army shrouded in darkness, seeking to devour, kill and destroy.
Without God we have no defence, we have no hope and no weapons to fight such an army. In Ashlyn’s story the battle was evident, often spiritual warfare is much more subtle, attacking our marriages, our friendships and the community that draws us closer to God. Remember “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours but God’s”(2Chronicles 20:15).
As for Andrew and I, it’s hard to describe what we’re going through. Four weeks wouldn’t seem like a long time to most, but it sure feels like a long time when you’re living in limbo. Stuck in two worlds, but not belonging to either. We’ve had to mourn the 6 months of the race we will no longer take part in, mourn the fact that we didn’t get to say goodbye to many of the friends we’ve made, and mourn every time we go on Facebook and see a picture of one of our team mates having a grand adventure that we would have been part of.
Now we’re here, and though it used to feel familiar it now feels somewhat foreign. With no home of our own, a broken computer we’ve been lugging around since India, and very little community surrounding us (outside of our family who we love dearly), how do we integrate back into this life without falling into old habits or loosing the things God has changed in us over the past 5 months.
This is where God has brought us, so this is where we must belong. ‘God first, then family and then ministry’, that’s something my Dad said yesterday, and I agree. However being back in the western world, money will soon force us to return to ‘normal life’ faster than we would probably like, without fully being able to process or understand some of the ideas and passions God has laid on our hearts and how or when to pursue them.
THANK YOU so much for your prayers. We hope you will continue to pray for us moving forward, and for Ashlyn and the rest of the family as she continues this journey of healing.
