Thankful...

This Sunday marks the 11 year anniversary of an accident that nearly took my life. Sounds pretty dramatic, and really it was...I was heading back (in a 15 passenger van) to Abilene from being in Sterling, Co for the weekend. I had been a youth leader for a Disciple Now that weekend, hanging out with 10 senior high school students- a fun weekend for sure. There were 8 of us in the accident, the van flipped 6 times and I was thrown through the windshield and was ejected 70 feet...my best friend, Kami was in the accident too, and as soon as the van stopped flipping- she jumped out of the van and ran to find me. She found me in a field in REALLY bad shape- I can't even imagine how hard that was for Kami to see...anyways, to make a really long story short...I was care flighted to Denver General and spent 3 days in ICU with internal bleeding(which led to the removal of my spleen that had burst), a broken shoulder bone, broken wrist, 2 broken vertebrae(t-7, T-8), massive concussion, a collapsed right lung, a few broken teeth, and shards of glass all over my body...along with receiving 3 blood transfusions. I was moved to a normal room once my condition was stable and spent another 7 days in the hospital- where I experienced 2 very scary pulmonary embolisms which kept on blood thinners for about a year. My ability to walk was compromised, and the doctor's told me that I may never run and that I may experience complications in the future with arthritis and with the possibility of having children. The future was looking bleek...so, I flew home Superbowl Sunday that year(1999) when Denver was in the bowl...upon coming home, obviously I stayed home that semester from HSU because I was completely dependent on my parents to dress me, bathe me, help me try to walk, get in bed, or out of bed, go to the bathroom-that was fun times to have your mom help you with that at 20 yrs old...I wore a turtle shell type back brace at ALL times- even in the bath...more fun time, I know! So, I had 6 different doctors that I had to visit to monitor my progress- and each doctor had a prognosis that my recovery would take 9-12 months and then I could discuss possible back surgery(basically sticking 2 steel rods up my spine- with a 50% chance of paralysis)...we'll it was about 4 1/2 months later that I had my last visit with my orthopedic doctor- he was in complete shock when he saw my x-rays that day- because he came back into the office to tell me that he couldn't fully explain it, but that my broken spine was healed...he even said, there must be something bigger out there to do such a miracle. All I could think was MY GOD IS SO BIG, SO STRONG AND SO MIGHTY, THERE IS NOTHING MY GOD CANNOT DO! So, I was actually back up and walking in no time and headed back to HSU by the summer to start classes and make up my time lost.In fact, when I graduated in 2000 I was just a semester behind... Fast forward to a few years later, and God blew me away again by giving me the ability to run my first marathon(in 2002), and the doctor's said I'd never run again...and then went on to run 2 more full marathons and 2 half marathons, and like 15- 5K's...My GOD is so BIG! And to add more to God's amazing ability to blow me away...my hubby and I welcomed our baby girl September 2008- and I was told I may never have kids? And to add one more thing- we are welcoming our baby boy this May...Praise the Lord, so amazing!

Before my accident, I had always struggled with the idea of God's sovereignty- that I wasn't in control of my own life- in fact if something didn't turn out my way it used to make me mad...and through this experience- I have realized how thankful I am that HE is Sovereign and in control of my life...and how much better life is with HIM in control and ultimately that God does all of this because He loves me and He can be trusted with the twist and turns of my life.

So, I almost lost my life, to realize that actually that is what is it all about...losing your life, to live for Christ...there are so many things that have changed about in me from this experience...it's too hard to even put in to words...one thing I do know is- I should have died 11 years ago, but for some reason God kept me alive...talk about finding purpose in that...He had a reason to keep me here(and for you too)...so each day is such a gift! There haven't been many days that I haven't been impacted by that...overall my health is great...I do have arthritis that in my spine and neck area that gives me pain everyday, but other than that I feel great(no back surgery needed). I have had such a miraculous recovery that trying to share this story with people-they almost don't believe me...so, I have a 13 inch scar down the front of my torso(from the internal bleeding) to prove this miracle is true(you can see my scar in the above picture-I'm 9 mo's preggo in it)...plus it serves as a reminder to me of how faithful and BIG my God is!

So, every year on January 17th I like to stop reflect on all those things- and thank the Lord for the last 11 years he has given me to see His power in my life. Thank you Lord- all the glory goes to You!

Blessings, Staci