thanks giving

Today we attended my parents' church as my Dad was one of the three guest speakers on the topic of Thanksgiving. As the pastor introduced Dad, he gave a brief run-down of the accident: the terrible phone call, the news that Dad broke his back, that Dad had waited -- injured -- in the rain for hours and hours, that Dad would never walk again. I wept to hear our sorrow spoken from the mouth of another.

The first thing Dad shared was his joy at the arrival of his two new little grandchildren. I wept again with joy.

Dad went on to share how he had received an inquiry -- shortly after his injury -- about the state of his faith. Dad was somewhat offended by the question, as it implied that Dad's faith was a product of good things happening and that faith may be expected to fade when bad things happen. He shared that his faith is a product of belief in a historical event: the arrival, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. He shared that his faith is a product of his belief in Christ's promise that He will never leave us or forsake us.

About a month after Dad's accident I mustered up the courage to go see the tree that felled him, to go to the spot where he waited. As I stepped into that little patch of leaves and branches, I was overcome with the realization that right there, right there where I was standing, Christ had stood, or knelt, or sat, keeping company with Dad in the wind and the rain. Dad was indeed in the valley of the shadow of death, and the Lord was with him.

So much to be thankful for this year.






Updated to add that Dad just posted about this on his blog. He included the full text of what he shared.

paraplegia