“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest” John 10:10
We are currently having debrief in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and we had an amazing time of worship with a fantastic guest speaker on Wednesday night. Josh, Kaysea, and I stayed back to talk to the speaker, and then decided to walk home the way we thought to be “safer”. We were so energetic and happy and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air, looking into the helmet of a man on the back of a motorcycle, and then I blacked out. The man had attempted to snatch my bag, but my bag wraps around my neck, so in the process of speeding by, he drug me along with him, and then let go when he realized I was not able to get lose. When I opened my eyes, all I could feel was intense throbbing and pain. I was extremely confused and then realized I was in the middle of the road. I scurried across to the sidewalk as fast as I could. I seriously had no idea what in the world was going on and thought this all happened within five seconds, but was later informed that I hadn’t moved for thirty seconds after I hit the ground, and that Josh and a tuk tuk driver had helped me off the road while Kaysea motioned off traffic. I sat on the ground, completely shocked by what had happened, and in complete and utter pain. My wrist and shoulder were throbbing, my neck was sore from his pull, my lower ribs hurt, my head beating from hitting the road “head” on. I could feel blood dripping down my face. I had no idea how severe the injuries were. In the confusion of it all, I paused, thanking God that no cars had been right behind me when I flew into the street, as we were on one of the busiest roads in the area, and asked Him to show me the purpose behind it all. While I don’t believe God intended for it to happen, I believe he is using the accident for his glory. The series of events that led to us there in that moment, taking that road, at that time was no mistake. When I got back to the hostel, there happened to be a Japanese doctor there. He was able to help me and then decided I needed to go to the hospital for a scan. The fact he happened to be at this hostel simply amazes me (God). The hospital, while not the most sanitary place I’ve ever been, was able to get me in and out really fast, and the results came back normal (wahoo!). The experience at the hospital alone opened my eyes. There were patients outside sleeping on the ground in mosquito nets, there was blood all over my sheets from not being washed from the patient(s) before, the man next to me had some extreme head injuries that are too graphic to go into detail for, it was overcrowded and seeing other peoples situations and the kind of care they needed versus what they were receiving is something I will never be able to forget. I am so so so fortunate to come out of this experience with just a gooseegg, some soreness, and some cuts that didn’t need stitches. God is GOOD! Anyways, through this all, I was reminded how short life is and how vulnerable we are. How nobody is invincible and that anything can happen to change the course of your life in just a second. I knew this already, especially because of our precious squadmate Anastasia who passed away unexpectedly, but this reminder came again hard and fast. I in no way am saying to live a life of fear, quite the contrary. We should take full advantage of everyday and opportunity, of every relationship, of every moment of laughter. Am I living my life to the best of my ability? Am I living it for God? Am I creating and nurturing relationships with others the way I should be? Am I worried or stressed about things that don’t matter? Am I using this able body to do all that it can be used for? Am I living fully the way Christ intended for us? I am so blessed that the injuries were not more serious and with this wake up call, I will not take another day for granted. Live life to the fullest.
