Today I am really pleased to have my friend Chris Carter from TheMomCafe guest posting! Chris provides encouragement and support to moms. She certainly has been a source of encouragement for me. I can pretty much count on Chris reading and commenting on 90% of my blog posts. And I feel like I’m so important to her. I love it!
Please make sure you visit her site, you won’t be disappointed!
A woman spoke at a church I went to several years ago. Her words still penetrate my heart to this day, and I carry her message with her to many who suffer and have been wounded in any way. This life is hard. There are tragedies and trauma that collide in our world for no reason and the road we once knew, is forever altered. Our existence is completely turned upside down and often, we find ourselves living in despair wondering how and why. Have you ever met a person who has suffered greatly through a tragic event and not only survives it, but shares an amazing grace and strength through it all? I have. And it baffles me and blows me away when I am deeply touched by such a soul.
This woman who spoke was in a car accident. Driving her mini-van with her best friend and kids down a busy road. I recall her interaction with her friend that she shared: “My friend looked down the road and asked, is that car on the wrong side? And before I could answer, the car had smashed head on, right into our van.”
Magnoliopsida (Photo credit: *Grant*)
One moment you’re driving your kids in the car with your best friend, having a wonderful outing. The next minute, you are facing multiple painful surgeries and a life in a wheelchair.
Her life was immediately torn into shreds of pain and suffering. A mom of little children she needed to raise. A faithful woman with a wonderful thriving and active life to pursue. An innocent person not knowing what was around the bend.
Incomprehensible.
I don’t even remember this woman’s name. I only remember her message. I’m quite sure she would be okay with that, because I believe her strength and passion emulate a faith I cannot imagine. But that’s where her message is clear. So it really wasn’t about her… it was about any of us.
She said the worst thing she hears throughout her years of suffering and victory over this life altering tragedy, continues to be the same echo over and over again from every one she encounters. It is this:
“I would NEVER be able to endure what you have been through. I just couldn’t survive it.”
She said that their sentiments would never apply to her condition. And here lies her message in my own words:
No one is ever EVER prepared for tragic events that shatter your life to pieces. Each soul will not have the strength, the power, or the ability to endure until the turn it taken. It is THEN, that He will provide for your needs and fill you with the strength to survive. It is THEN, that He will equip you with the necessary means of survival. It is THEN, that your God will carry you, pull you, push you, embrace you, lift you, comfort you, guide you, replenish you, restore you, and bless you…
With the passion, the power and the purpose to go on.
Hold on to that promise, my friend. And carry it with you around the bend.
Chris Carter says
March 28, 2013 at 12:34 amThanks SO much for having me over at your beautiful place, my friend! I wish I could hit 100% of your posts…but always know I try!! And yes, you ARE that important to me. 🙂
katbiggie says
March 30, 2013 at 11:34 pmThank you so very, very much for visiting! And thank you for answering all of the comments! I wound up having an extraordinarily busy week, and hardly had a chance to do anything on the blog, so I am very grateful to you! You are so popular! 🙂
Ilene says
March 28, 2013 at 5:40 amChris, your words are inspirational as always. And it is so true – that our lives can turn on a dime. I have had a few “close calls” that I can only explain as grace – my daughter’s car accident in January – that she walked away from with only minor injuries, my son, being born early but thriving beautifully despite the complications. And evry time, I have been thrown a curve ball, I have found the strength needed to forge ahead – but also feel so fortunate that my curve balls have been minor. Thank you for sharing your inspiration today! xo
Chris Carter says
March 28, 2013 at 9:14 amThose are amazing examples of “grace” Ilene!!! Thanking God for those blessings in your life. I love how you said it: “And every time I have been thrown a curve ball, I have found the strength needed to forge ahead –”
Janine Huldie says
March 28, 2013 at 12:05 pmBeautiful message and great guest post, Chris. I have an aunt who lost her first born many years ago of Aplastic Anemia, before they actually knew of any real cures. She was told he would die within 6 months. This little boy lived for almost 6 years and when they finally lost him, my aunt and uncle too were devastated, but they eventually picked up the pieces for living child and then went on to adopt another little boy. Amazes me her strength and perseverance and as a mother now not sure if I would be this strong and be able to move on. But so true and honestly this is just what came to mind when I read your post.
Chris Carter says
March 28, 2013 at 10:13 pmOh Janine… I couldn’t imagine that either. It’s amazing the strength that people find to survive such horrible suffering. I can agree with your feelings, how would we make it through something like that? Somehow- provisions of strength and hope come. You know that all too well with your precious Aunt and Uncle’s loss. Thanks so so much for your comment. Means the world to me!
Candice says
March 28, 2013 at 12:48 pmBeautifully written! Those of us who have never had a tragedy impact us personally can only make an inadequate attempt at compassion for those who have. We try to understand and shed genuine, empathetic tears for them, yet we know we could never truly understand unless we are vicitim to it ourselves. So we give our inadequate compassion to God and pray for those people knowing only He can give them the compassion they so deserve. Those of us that have maybe escaped tragedy this day or this year or this decade, live in our own fear of it. We worry and fear that ‘our time’ is bound to be coming. Again, the only way to put those fears aside is to give them to Him. He knows what is to come and He is the only one who can handle whatever comes. A fact of the human condition: our Faith is constantly being tested….
Chris Carter says
March 28, 2013 at 10:16 pmI love this comment sis. You speak such amazing truth and insight! I love your last statement: “A fact of the human condition: our Faith is constantly being tested….”. It is terrifying to think of things that “could happen” isn’t it? I am just so grateful I can release those fears to God and believe He is in charge… AND whatever may come, His Provisions will be enough.
another jennifer says
March 28, 2013 at 1:01 pmAnd there’s another post where you’ve made me cry, Chris! So beautifully said. Life throws some painful and seemingly unbearable things at people sometimes. Yet, like this woman, they still have the strength to move on. It’s nothing short of a miracle.
Chris Carter says
March 28, 2013 at 10:19 pmOh you make me smile with me making you cry!!!! LOL It truly is “nothing short of a miracle” in so many many ways with some of the tragedies we know about and somehow these amazing people prevail. I just love the perspective this woman shared. It makes so much sense. It’s a new insight I continue to drudge through my mind over and over again… and for some reason, it gives me peace.
Julie Chenell DeNeen says
March 28, 2013 at 5:44 pmChris- This was a beautiful and profound post> I know that we are never able to handle the traumas of life before they happen, but when they do – somehow – God gives us the grace to survive it – maybe even turn the ashes into something beautiful.
Chris Carter says
March 28, 2013 at 10:21 pm“God gives us the grace to survive it – maybe even turn the ashes into something beautiful.” OH my gosh, how I love that… love love love…that. It is a perspective that in a small way, gives me peace.
Katie Vyktoriah says
March 29, 2013 at 10:34 amThis is a beautiful message and very true. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for those who are thrown such a curveball in life, but it never ceases to amaze me how well my fellow humans deal with what they are given.
Chris Carter says
March 29, 2013 at 5:00 pmI hear ya Katie. I am so amazed too… those souls are rich in strength and full of courage. Thanks so much for reading and sharing!
Mary @ A Teachable Mom says
March 29, 2013 at 3:25 pmChris, your words never fail to encourage and inspire me. I admire your strength, wisdom and faith and am grateful for your calming presence in my life. This is a beautiful piece and exactly what I need to hear – God is with me in the present moment, always, and not in the future “what ifs” I so enjoy worrying about! Lovely, lovely post. Hugs to you!
Chris Carter says
March 29, 2013 at 4:58 pmOh Mary!!! You always are so encouraging and loving and supportive of my words… thank you a million times, my friend. I can’t tell you how much that means to me! 🙂
Mary @ A Teachable Mom says
March 29, 2013 at 3:26 pmChris, your words never fail to encourage and inspire me. I admire your strength, wisdom and faith and am grateful for your calming presence in my life. This is a beautiful piece and exactly what I need to hear – God is with me in the present moment, always, and I can let go of the “what ifs” I so enjoy worrying about! Lovely, lovely post. Hugs to you!
Mothering From Scratch says
March 30, 2013 at 11:38 am{Melinda} That is SUCH a powerful and insightful message, Chris. I really needed to hear and understand the truth of those words. As usual, your sharing inspires me. Thank you, friend. 🙂
Chris Carter says
March 30, 2013 at 10:57 pmOh Melinda- I am so SO glad you were encouraged and inspired by this message. I hold on to it and really felt that sharing it would be as significant to others as it was to me.
Hope says
April 1, 2013 at 1:22 pmWow. Unimaginable until it happens to you. It’s only then that we will allow God to truly carry us and be strength for us. Unless we experience that type of tragedy and experience how God’s strength is totally perfect when ours is totally gone, it is hard to imagine. But your words, Chris “Hold on to that promise, my friend. And carry it with you around the bend.” brings hope. Beautifully written.
Chris Carter says
April 1, 2013 at 5:45 pmThank you so much Hope. You share wise words and we all will have faith that God will step in and provide and fulfill that promise each turn around the bend…