I still remember the feeling of waking up, rolling myself over, and looking up at the undercarriage of my running car. My foggy thoughts cleared up instantly as I remembered.
I was just in an accident.
I pulled myself out from underneath the car, thinking, “I’m okay! I’m okay!” I wasn’t in pain. The car hadn’t rolled over and pinned me underneath like I first believed. I was going to take some deep breaths, stand up, and walk away.
Except….
Except when I tried, I was instantly in agony. Looking down, I suddenly saw that I was not okay. My right femur was on the opposite side of my pelvis, obviously disfigured and damaged. I lay back in the dirty snow on the side of the road, beyond caring about anything except the pain.
It was the greatest moment of my life.
Why? Because of the fruit that it bore. The exact moment that I was impacted, sent flying, and dragged underneath a running vehicle is the exact moment I can pinpoint when the course of my life changed.
Following a season of depression, pain, and fear, God provided. He provided a settlement from the insurance company, which allowed me to go to Capernwray Bible School in Europe. Capernwray gave me a love and a passion for travel and taught me more of God and His character. My travels took me to Peru, where I saw poverty for the first time and realized I desperately wanted to do something about it. My passion for addressing the needs of the world led me to study International Affairs at CU Boulder. Being in Boulder steered me to Flatirons Community Church and ultimately the World Race.
How would our perspectives change about our pasts if we stopped thinking about things as done against us or to us and instead as for us? What if we asked Jesus to show us how He “works all things together for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28) in our own lives? I’ve found that it made some of the most painful moments of my past suddenly beautiful, full of grace and love from a good Father.
When I look back at the good that being hit by a car has brought to my life, that is how I know that it was for me. I am overwhelmingly grateful for it, because I am living a life more grand than I could have imagined at 16 years of age. Praise Jesus for the hardships, for it is in them when we are changed, molded, and matured into His image. Don’t believe me? Check out Genesis 37-46 and ask Jesus to show you.
