Now I Know
Some years ago, a parolee of our justice system came into our office and hit my wife on her head with a broken brick. He fractured her skull in two places; she suffered blunt force trauma in at least five others. From the blood spattered over the walls and pooled on the floor, he may have thought that he had killed her; I thought that he surely had tried. When I found her, she could not tell me what had happened. I feared that she would not live to get to a hospital. I only knew to call for help and to hold her. I searched my soul for some kind of solace. Calling upon God seemed to be my only choice. Life was not always without trouble, but I had never dealt with so pressing possibilities.
Over the years, I have voiced consolation to those who had need. I may even have said, “I feel for you”. Now I know that I could not have possibly felt their pain. And more than once, for trouble of equal weight, I have recommended a special trust in the Creator, but I could not have known, by experience, that it would have helped. I had been introduced to Christianity over fifty years ago. I had used my faith to find mental peace at more than one time of anxiety, but none as severe as that bad happening. I had come to a place in time when I knew that, with all the personal power I could muster, I could not alter one cell in the hurt body of my beloved partner. I remember asking God to help, but I also remember acknowledging the terrible prospect, and telling Him I would understand. With that said, the assurance came to mind quickly, and then I knew that the promises I had read in the Bible were true. Even though I walked through the valley of the shadow death for one so dear to me, He was there.
After spending several weeks in two hospitals, we brought her home for the rest of her healing. The bills began to come in. We had not prepared for this kind of circumstance. While we were still in the hospital room, my eldest daughter asked, “Daddy, how will you pay for all this”? I am not sure what I told her, but by then I had come to understand that there were no boundaries to God’s power.
Several New Years have passed since we first felt our calamity, and now I know, how to feel for those who suffer greatly, how to appreciate what was taken for granted, how to thank God for His grace and mercy, and how to trust Him without exception. We have worn the same shoes that they wear. We could tell many stories about how He helped by using His people to make our lives better than if we had been walking alone. Things are good for us now; I never expected such diverse support, and now I know the great pleasure that comes from trusting His everlasting promises. Where there once was a dark cloud, the sun shines brightly.
