“Call me as soon as you can.”
After the previous two years I knew what that meant. Something awful had happened- someone had died or was horribly hurt. My family had been living through our toughest season to date. These calls were becoming routine, like clockwork. This one, however, came much sooner than I had anticipated as just the month before the last catastrophe had occurred- usually we had at least four months between events to attempt to recover.
I reached for the phone on the counter and dialed, holding my breath as it rang.
“Jacob is in the hospital. We don’t know what happened, but you need to come.”
Jacob? How? Why? My brother was a perfectly healthy nineteen year old. As hard as my brain tried I could not comprehend the words I was hearing.
“You have to get here safe. You have to focus while you drive.”
I hung up the phone still in shock. Tears welled up in my eyes. My coworker and dear friend walked past me, stopping once she saw the look on my face. I tried to explain what was going on, tried to piece together my jumbled thoughts. Before I knew it I was in the ER next to my mother and oldest sister, waiting for the doctors to decide how to best treat my precious baby brother…
One year.
It has been one year since that horrifying text message. One year since tearful phone calls with family members and friends. One year since we were overcome with crippling fear. One year since we were taught, yet again, how precious and fragile life is. One year, three hospitals, one major surgery, three procedures, and four months of intermittent hospitalizations.
As it is not my medical information to share, I will refrain from going into detail as to what exactly happened to my brother. I will tell you that for a couple of days we sincerely thought we were going to lose him. For a couple of days we did not know if we would ever see him smile again, ever hear his laugh again or be able to watch him grow into the man that he has since become. For four months he was in and out of a few different hospitals as doctors attempted to explain exactly what happened to him or why.
I will tell you that more can happen in a year than I ever imagined. That my brilliant, handsome, funny brother is healthy and preparing to spend the day with our sweet mother. That he completed his first semester at the college he has always dreamed of attending, Purdue, and is one step closer to pursue his dream of becoming an engineer. I will tell you that one year ago today was almost the worst day of my life, that today could have been a day of mourning. Instead today is a day of celebration. A day when my family pauses and reflects. A day when we are reminded that we could have lost Jacob and we fall to our knees in praise that God had a different plan.
I wish that I had some brilliant words of wisdom or a glorious revelation to share with you. Instead I have a heart full of emotions that wants to shout my God’s goodness from every mountain top I can find. Y’all, He is SO good. There is no darkness He cannot light up, no illness He cannot cure and no situation He cannot bring comfort.
May we never take our loved ones for granted. May we remember that tomorrow is not promised for any of us. May we be slow to anger and quick to love. Most importantly, may we always remember how great our God is.
All my love,
Bekah
