Living in the Storm

Sometimes the storms in life roll in when we least expect them.

The daughter of a good friend of mine was in a horrible car accident this week.  Brooke is 21.  She was heading down with some friends to spring break in Panama City.  I can just imagine the girls in her Jeep feeling carefree, laughing, and excitedly driving towards their destination.  Then everything changed in a split second.

Suddenly a van came into her lane.  She moved to the shoulder to avoid a wreck but the shoulder had a slope in the middle and gravel underneath.  Brooke's car flipped several times.  She was thrown from the car (even though she had a seatbelt on) and went flying through the air.  Several guys traveling down the road saw it happen and stopped to pull the other girls from the car.  They got the girls out just before the Jeep caught fire.  These "Good Samaritans" pulled them all to safety.

Brooke has a broken neck and is in critical condition.  The neurosurgeon and EMT said she shouldn't have survived the accident.  It is a miracle she is alive.  God obviously has big plans for Brooke's life. 

It stirs up a nagging question:  Why do some people have to endure so much pain and suffering in this life?

After wrestling with this question for years, I know I'm not getting a specific answer.  The answer comes in much more subtle ways.

"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later."  Romans 8:18

"And we know that in all things God works for the good those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28

Nine months ago, it was hard for me to believe good could come from places of so much pain.  I am starting to see good coming from all of Jenson's suffering.  Smiles are being sent in "Monkey Grins" packages to Histio families.  Changes in patient safety are happening at Children's hospital.  People have been reminded how precious life is and to not take it for granted.


A little boy has taught many people how to find joy in the midst of pain.  And a 21 yr old girl named Brooke is about to do the same.