Monday, June 24, 2013

"Blood"

Tragedy marked the beginning of the summer I turned 15.  I was walking along the road, following all Pedestrian laws.  Out of nowhere – a car struck me from behind and catapulted me 150 feet. My body landed against a tree, dangerously near death. Injuries occurred literally from head to toe.  The worst wounds involved my head, right arm and back.  Traumatic blood loss led to shock and the expectation that this would be my last day on earth.  At the hospital, my family said their goodbyes.  Obviously, that didn’t turn out to be my last day on Earth – but it came close and serves as an ever present reminder that we don’t know when our last day will come. 

After surviving those first critical hours, attention was directed to the mangled mess that was my body.  My head was sliced wide open necessitating a partial crew-cut.  My right eye was bloody and swollen.  Horrid lacerations and significant bruising existed all over. X-rays revealed a broken back, and my parents were told I’d never walk again.  My knees and ankles were injured – in fact there was no area of my body that completely escaped harm.  The most grotesque disfigurement of all was to my right arm. 
The collision between the car and my body commenced an airborne thrashing compounded by a street sign, a giant wooden cable spool and finally, a tree. My arm was twisted and crushed in unimaginable ways.  The bone between the shoulder and elbow was shattered.  Jagged pieces penetrated the skin in a zigzagged pattern, practically amputating just above the elbow. My arm was a bloody mess – and the initial plan was simply to complete the process of amputation.  Gratefully, another doctor was called in and he began a process that took years, multiple casts, hours of surgery and an incredible amount of physical therapy.  (Gratefully, I say – because I still have a right arm and 95% + range of motion.)
Surgery lasted over 5 hours.  Since damage was extensive and much of the original humerus remained at the accident scene, bone from my right hip was grafted into the arm and encased by 4” of titanium. The recovery was long – but the doctor assured me that it was IMPOSSIBLE for the right humerus to be broken again – IMPOSSIBLE. The ultimate and irreversible healing of my ugly, mangled arm amazingly parallels another irreversible healing in me. 
Like my arm, I was once a huge mess - mangled, and badly wounded through years of abuse and rejection.  That time in life was further complicated by consequences to my poor choices.   There was a hole in my heart that I tried to fill with the things of this world, but nothing ever satisfied – and those failed attempts left me increasingly despondent.  There were times that I simply wanted to die – to leave this world.  That embarrasses me now, because I am so grateful for each day….even the difficult ones.
Not growing up in the church, I was exposed to Jesus through various friends and extended family.  The summer I turned 12, I accepted Jesus as my Savior.  Like my right arm would later serve to illustrate – the promise of an eternity in Heaven could not be broken.  My salvation was sealed at the moment of that decision.   However, it wasn’t until years later that I was able to know the joy and peace that comes from fully surrendering one’s life to Jesus Christ.   While I knew beyond any doubt that I was a Christian, the concept of daily dying to self and living for Him remained foreign. Unfortunately too, the ways of the world still proved enticing. 
My walk with Jesus had been on my terms – when convenient.  In my early 20s and pregnant with a daughter – I came face to face with my need for His guidance and protection more than ever.  Being fearful of repeating destructive patterns, and having no idea what a Godly mother looked like – I pressed into Him like never before.  Jesus heard my heartfelt, though not eloquent prayers.  Those prayers were and continue to be answered in ways bigger and better than I could have imagined.  Finally, I “got it” – my relationship with Jesus Christ wasn’t ONLY about a future in Heaven.  My relationship with my Lord and Savior is a daily surrender.
Years after the accident, I discovered a medical arm band from the hospital – with my name, dates, etc. – and the words:  Blood Recipient.  Somehow, I’d missed the fact that a random person’s blood donation had spared my life. Because of that selfless gift, I was given additional time on Earth, more opportunity to “get things right” and further occasion to share the love of Jesus with others. This serves as another AMAZING illustration: As the life-giving liquid that courses through our veins, blood symbolizes life.  In the Bible, the blood of Jesus serves as a symbol not of His death, but of His life poured out for us. 

Consider this:  I’ll never know the identity of the person whose blood donation saved my life.  However, I know the name of the One whose blood has reconciled me to God and has sealed my future in Heaven forever.  His name is Jesus.  He walks with me.  He comforts and protects me.  He hears and answers my prayers.  He leads me and is the model for how I am to love others.  He knows me intimately and He wants me to know Him the same way.

It’s humbling that a total stranger gave me the gift of his/her blood.  However, it is AMAZING and awe-inspiring that Jesus, son of God shed His blood for me.  He knows EVERYTHING about me – and it’s not all pretty, yet He loves me.  There is power in His blood.  In His blood I found healing; eradication of my sin; forgiveness and hope for all eternity. The blood of Jesus has the power to change the inner man… I am living proof.


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

 
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It’s not by chance that you are learning my story.  There is no such thing as coincidence or luck. Have you received a divine blood transfusion?  Are YOU ready?

Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of Hell.” (Charles Spurgeon)

 

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