VL - Issue 15 - February 2015

GOOD continued from page 9
I trusted that if I stayed here on the earth, God
would see me through. I had already seen His hand
at work so evidently in my previous accident. But
if God decided this was my last day here, then I
trusted He would take care of those I left behind.
I was still alive, however, and I was committed
to making the most of the life I had. I wasn’t
guaranteed tomorrow, but I had today. I was
determined to use whatever time God gave me, to
reach people for Him. I had no agenda other than
to love people and to build relationships with those
around me. There were people all around who
needed encouragement—family members, friends,
doctors, nurses, and other patients. If I could be just
a little bit of light to them, then what I was going
through was worth it.
I am amazed at how God used my situation to
touch others. One nurse told me she had grown up
in a Christian home but had wandered from her
relationship with God during college. Going through
nursing school and seeing all the pain in the world,
she had come to the conclusion that there simply
couldn’t be a God. If He was real, why was there so
much suffering?
My miraculous recovery and the depth of our
family’s faith convinced her otherwise, and she gave
her life back to God. I would go through all this pain
again for that alone. Hearing her profession of faith
was an incredible experience. I mean, who am I to
be used for such a wonderful thing?
This nurse isn’t the only person who has seen
bad things and concluded that God must not exist.
Many believe there is no God. Or they believe that
if He does exist, then He must be angry or unjust
because He allows such pain. How, they ask, could
a good God let such awful things happen to good
people? And they blame Him for their circumstances.
Many people have a hard time coming to grips with
the fact that I was injured while trimming trees for
the church. They cannot understand why God would
allow such pain for someone who loves Him and
serves Him.
In all of my pain, I’ve not asked why. But if I
were to ask some “why” questions, they would be,
“God, why have You spared my life? Why have You
protected me? Why are You so good to me?”
God has blessed me with so much. I have so
many things to be thankful for. By focusing on what
I have instead of what I’ve lost, I’m able to move
forward and not fall into a sea of hopelessness.
I don’t know why this happened to me. But I
do know that God has used every moment, every
ounce, of my pain for good. Nothing has been
wasted.
LESSONS LEARNED
I’ve heard people say, “God did this for a reason.
It was His will.” This is such a common phrase,
especially among Christians. I think we should
be very careful before we throw this statement
around. Ultimately, we are blaming God for our
circumstances.
Think about it: if I went to the roof of my
apartment and jumped off, I’d most likely break
my legs. Did God break them? No. Like an idiot,
I jumped off the roof and broke my own legs. My
decision caused the result. Kind of like my first
accident. God didn’t crash me into the rocks; the
driver and I misjudged the lake length. I chose to
compete at the last minute against my parents’
wishes. That was my doing, not God’s.
But the cool thing about God is that even in
my mess-ups, He is still at work. He can take my
mistakes and the mistakes of others that have
caused me harm—and He can take the attacks of
Satan against me—and miraculously use them all
for good. No matter what happens to us, God can
transform any situation into something beautiful.
One beautiful miracle was the birth of my son,
Justice. Already, I’ve learned so much from this little
guy. First of all, I’ve learned to trust the timing of
God. Had Bobbye conceived on our timetable, she
would have been giving birth to Justice at the time
of my accident. That would have been incredibly
difficult for everyone.
I’ve also learned the importance of having goals.
The thought of holding Justice motivated me to
push through my pain during therapy. What an
incredible moment holding Justice was for all of us!
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
I’ve learned, too, the importance of seeing things
from my heavenly Father’s perspective. I’ve seen
how quickly Justice’s world turns upside down when
his binky slips from his mouth. He wails like crazy.
I’m like, “Calm down, buddy. It’s all right. Here you
go. We can overcome this binky issue easily.” From
my fatherly perspective, I can see that his situation
isn’t too big to overcome.
As people, we’re guaranteed to face binky issues
at some time or another. Perhaps you’re a teenager
Garret Cortese / alliancewake.com Lisa Lotter Photography
10 www.kojministries.org