In "Other" Words

"When life whacks you so hard your head flies off, sew it back on and keep going."

~ Mary Pierce ~

Sounds like the title of my first book!

Life happens, ya know...and we have no control over it. God has already ordained what will take place in our lives, from birth till death...He knows we will come to forks in the road and which path we will travel. He knows that when tragedy strikes, we will either turn to Him or run away from Him. Oh Lord, may it never be that I would turn away from You!

Just a little over five years ago, I sat at my grandfather's funeral. I was calm and numb as I watched my fiance read the eulogy that I had written. For as much as I was mourning on the inside, in 95 days I was getting married to the man I had prayed for. This man and I were embarking on a spiritual journey...one that led to seminary and back and a life in full-time ministry. I was so thrilled God had put us together. I felt so lucky that Jeremy had chosen me! :) I felt honored that he wanted me to serve next to him.

In the depths of who I was though...I was saddened to know my grandfather would not be sitting in the sanctuary on my big day. I was hurt that God allowed it to happen, when that was one of the greatest things that he was looking forward to...being at my wedding. But I pressed on. I buried the pain and hurt. I married the man in late July of 2001 and nine months later, as Easter approached, I came face to face with the pain and hurt I had buried. At our church in Fort Worth, we attended a Maundy Thursday service where we took the Lord's supper. As we entered the service that night, we were given a piece of paper to write down our sins that needed to be forgiven. On the other side of the paper you were to write down the people God wanted you to forgive. Oh, Lord, I was busted. A year had gone by since my grandfather's death and I was still harboring an extreme amount of bitterness.

My grandfather was hit by a car at a gas station on his way to pay for his gas. The man who hit him had an open container in his car...and was not sited for it. (That's illegal in this state!) My grandpa was rushed to the trauma hospital in this area and after 5 days we made the decision to remove him from life support. We waited an extra day, since the 4th day fell on my mom's 50th birthday. It was a sad time in our family. The wind was blown out of my sails, or I guess you could say "Life wacked me so hard that my head fell off!" So, as I sat in that service, it was time to sew my head back on and keep going. It was time to forgive the man who put my grandpa in the hospital.

As I walked down the aisle that night to put my piece of paper in the plate and take of the elements of the Lord's supper, I stood in awe of God and His forgiveness. I don't deserve it, but by His grace I get it. I can't ever hold forgiveness from anyone, since that would be against everything Christ says in His word.

At the time I knew God would make great things come out of my grandfather's accident, but I never expected me to be the beneficiary of some of those great things. Just two years ago, the 3 year anniversary of my grandfather's death was approaching, and I was also approaching having a child. As the time grew near, my mother was fearful that the day of the accident would be my child's birthday...well, as it happened, that's exactly what took place. The Lord knew all of that, and made April 27th a better day in the life of our family. Not one scarred, but one with joy.

In Christ-

Karen