Mistaken Identity

I just completed another book, and I am so grateful that I now have the time to enjoy a good book. Since we have moved here I have been able to recapture the joy I would get from reading when I was growing up. I can remember being so involved in a book, that I felt as if I had become one of the characters, or that I was living what I was reading. The bookI just finished MISTAKEN IDENTITY is the true story of two girls from Taylor university who were mistaken for one another after a horrific automobile accident. I remember hearing about it when it happened a couple of years ago but never thought much of it, but as I was checking out of the Library the other day this book was on the counter and I asked the librarian if I could check it out. So anyway as I was reading it I began to think about my car accident. April 1, 2005 seems like it was sooo long ago yet I can still remember it like it was yesterday, it’s a day that my life was changed forever. It’s a day that I truly saw God at work and felt his presence come over me. It’s also a day that I came to realize what’s really important in life. Love. Most of my close friends and family know the story but I am still gonnaa blog a little about it from what I remember. Ok so here goes: April 1, 2005 started like any other day I guess, the kids went off to school, now they were supposed to be enjoying their last day of spring break but we had to many snow days so they used that final day of spring break as a make up day. (proof enough for me that God is Good:)) at some point during the day I ventured out and to the Thrift store (I was looking for a desk, I was planning on homeschooling Michael and Katie and I needed a good sturdy desk for the computer and various files etc..) I found the perfect one and it was cheap like $20.00 or so the only problem was it wouldn’t fit in the van. So I called Earl and my Dad and they said they would pick it up after work, I continue on with my day I eventually make it to Wal-mart for some groceries and as I am getting in line Earl calls and says that they need the receipt for the desk or they can’t pick it up. I head over there and call my mom on the way to see if she can meet the kids at the house the bus would be there soon and I wouldn’t be there. (Proof again God is Good, my kids wouldn’t be alone when they heard of the accident) I get to the store they load up and we are on our way home. I drove this same road everyday usually several time a day but today’s outcome would be different. I saw the van coming at me and I just assumed he would veer off back into his own lane and everything would be fine, but he didn’t I remember thinking he’s gonna go back in to his lane any time now and I began to slow down and scoot over on the road, I was as far over on the shoulder as I could be with out going into the grass. Then he hit me, My initial reaction was that I need to stop my van from moving I was less than 50 ft from a very busy intersection, and I knew that at this time of day on a Friday afternoon there would be semi’s and other cars trying to get home. Anyway, I remember my dad being there almost instantly and he looked so worried, and I told him my face was burning, so he ran and got me a towel to wipe my face, then Earl came over. (I can’t even imagine knowing what it’s like to see someone you love get hit by another vehicle) Earl kept asking me if I was ok and I really had no Idea how bad the injuries I had were or how much damage the van I was driving had taken. My glasses had been broken by the airbag and I knew my left arm was broken but I never felt any pain, in fact I remember having this feeling of warmth and peace come over me. I took off my wedding ring and gave it to Earl, I didn’t want them to cut it off. And then I went into crazy mom mode, I began giving Earl things out the window to take because I had no Idea how long it would take to repair the van (it was totaled, but I hadn’t seen it yet). He must have thought I was crazy I was more concerned with the groceries I had just bought than I was with the fact that I had just been in a car accident. Now during this time I am still feeling no pain in fact I am think they will set my arm and send me home from the hospital, I was wrong. I ended up with a broken arm, two hour surgery and a plate and seven screws to fix it. and a broken foot and toes two hour surgery and pins to fix it as well as four months in a wheel chair two months of physical therapy and lots of time to learn about patience. And through it all I Thank God. For so many things, one my kids were not with me. That in itself is enough for me. I honestly felt no pain until several hours later after I had been transported to MCO from the hospital in Findlay. During the accident there was no blood, I later found that the dashboard had come in and down on my knees and I had some scrapes and minor bruising but no blood, it took almost a week to get all the glass out of my hair again no blood. Earl and I and our children were surrounded by somuch love and support during that time that we truly felt blessed. After the surgeries and a few days of recovery I was allowed to come home with the promise that I would have someone to care for me. At this point I knew I had a choice to be angry and bitter or to see the Blessings that God would bring from this. I chose to look for and see the Blessings, and boy did I. The ones that come to mind immediatley are the cards and letters and prayers that poured in, as well as all the amazing women who sat with me after the first week and I insisted Earl return to work. Sometimes it was family and other times someone I barely knew from church or BSF. But everyday I got to see God;s Love for me in some one. The food poured in like crazy my amazing friend Rebekah organized it so that we would have meals everyday for a month and a half then I asked for those to stop we needed to get some sense of normalcy back into the home and by this point I was able to maneuver around better in the wheel chair. Most importantly what I learned from this time was how precious life was and that God’s Love could really get you through anything. Now I had bad days that I just wanted to cry out why me God! But it didn’t last long when I thought about all the good that would come from this. During this time I read throughoutthe book of Job, and I was encouraged by his strength to not allow all the terrible things to turn him away from God. I wanted to be like Job. And now three and a half years later as I sit here in Kansas I can look back and see that God is always with me it’s me that turns away not God. The scars are still there and I am Thankful for them, it’s a daily reminder to me that God is good and that he can and will take good from bad situations. So if my story can encourage just one person then it’s worth it. Even if that person is me. I am not sure why I felt the need to write this out, I don’t think I ever had since the accident but I know that God showed me Love, he showed me that he would carry me through it and he did. God gave me an Identity in Him. It took this accident for me to really stop and listen to what God wanted and to stop doing what I wanted. I still fail and fall short but I am reminded that he Love’s where I am and he loves me too much to let me sit there. God is good. Ok it’s getting late and I am getting tired but if you ever wanna talk about I am here. and I hope that you will see this accident as, as much of a blessing , as I have. May you feel the peace of God.
Know you are Loved. Thought of, & Prayed for Today.
Love Christina