Come Forth as Gold

Hello, friends.  Welcome.  Today is a significant day for me.  I hesitate to say special because I'm not sure that's the correct word, but certainly significant.  I have scheduled this post to go live at 7pm because one year ago today (at approximately 7pm) I was in a very serious accident.  Some of you know that and I will tell you now, this post has some pictures you may or may not want to see.  One is the accident scene and one is me a few days after the accident.  They really don't elicit much emotion from me (maybe a good thing) but I know some people close to me don't want to see the pictures at all.

I decided to make a mini album with just a few pictures.  (I loved making the album and can't wait to make more with different themes.)  I also added some scriptures that I feel really describe....where God was in all this.  What He was doing, if that makes any sense to you.

So....here goes, dear friends:

 I have thought about this album for several months.  I have prayed about it and made notes of different verses that seemed to speak to me.  There were 4 of us in the accident.  Compared to me their injuries were all incredibly minor.  Oren and Josiah were looked at in the hospitals and released.  Ben spent 2 days in the same hospital as me so they could fit him in a back brace.  I broke my nose and wrist and had multiple fractures around my right eye.  My entire right side was bruised.  My right hip was so swollen I went up 2 pant sizes in 3 days.  I had some hairline fractures in my back.  I had bleeding on the back of my brain and both carotid arteries in my neck were severed and starting to harden.  "Sift like wheat"...I feel like that's what satan was doing.  Like I was the one targeted in the accident.

 These are the 2 sleds prior to the accident.  Oren and Ben were on the blue one on the left and Josiah and I were on the silver one on the right.

 "Even I will carry you, and will deliver you."  The Lord gave me this verse last Sunday in church.  The accident happened 1/2 mile behind our house.  It was very very cold that night and when I regained consciousness and started to get up Oren decided we should walk to the house because the emergency workers he had called would never find us back there.  (I remember none of this.  I share what I have been told by my family.)  All the medical personnel from the first trooper on the scene to the doctors in the hospital were amazed that I walked that far given the extent of my injuries.  God was "carrying" me, I don't doubt that.  The amazing thing about this verse is that I read it the morning of the accident only I didn't realize that until just this morning.  I have devotions with my children every morning after breakfast.  I have a small book that has selected scriptures for each day.  I have read from it for several years now.  When I read it this morning I couldn't believe that this verse was in that selection.  God works in ways we can't begin to imagine.

 These are the sleds a couple days after the accident before they were moved.  I was driving the one on the right.  It took 3 people pulling my sled to get the front skis out of the ground.  Joseph once commented that he wondered if we would get to see an instant replay when we get to heaven of what the angels were doing during the accident.  In my mind I picture them like the defensive line on a football team.  A wide receiver must have caught me as I ended up about 30 feet behind the sled.  (Joseph said he could tell where I was because it was so cold the snow hadn't melted and there was still blood in the snow from my broken nose and cut on my eyelid.)  I think there were plenty of angels on the scene that night.

 I don't remember the accident.  Because of my severe head injury I don't remember most of the following 2 weeks and at times I still forget something I said 5 minutes ago.  However, my family clearly remembers everything.  Joseph said that in spite of everything going on around him (dozens of emergency vehicles, his wife and 2 sons going off to different hospitals in different cities, me being airlifted to the hospital) the peace of God was so strong for him.  He made a couple quick calls to our pastor and one of his prayer warriors and the prayers started going up.  One close friend told me when he got the news he hit his knees.  People were praying literally around the world.  Joseph truly didn't know, as he was making the hour drive to the hospital after I was air lifted, if I would still be alive when he got there.  And yet, the super-natural peace filled our van and comforted him then and in the days following.

 This is me about 4 days after the accident.  I was home.  My Bekah slept on the pull-out couch with me for about 2 weeks as my balance was so bad I couldn't do the stairs very well, in fact I needed help just walking to the bathroom.  Here she is feeding me.  Joseph said I was so out of it I wouldn't feed myself.  She did such a good job taking care of me.  You can see my right wrist is bandaged and my face is very swollen.  Not the best picture of me but I'm glad my Josiah took it with my ipod  :)

 And here I am now.  You can't really tell my nose is slightly crooked (although I can feel it).  You can't see the small scar on my eyelid unless I point it out.  My face is actually shaped slightly different and my teeth moved but you would never guess.  Unless you know about the accident you wouldn't have any idea how bad I was unless I told you.  It is my prayer that as I have gone through this I will truly come forth as gold.  Refined by my Master and showing His glory.

God is so good.  He is ever faithful and I again surrender my life to Him.

May you be blessed today!  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle