The place where “there’s no way forward” meets “God is enough.”
In the rarified air of the unknown, we walk with feet of clay, scale crags on bloodied knees, and reach up to touch the face of God from the dirt.
In this place, every life is precious. Every tear is gathered into God’s vessel, to be poured out upon the feet of the Savior who carries us each step of the journey home. Here it’s okay to be broken. In fact, it’s better, because…
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit. -Psalm 34:18
My mother’s strokes in 1989 first introduced me to the world of disability. When a doctor wanted to “let her die” because, he told me, her life was “useless,” I learned the fight for life is as primal as it gets. Her condition wasn’t terminal, just inconvenient.
Those years prepared me for a harder path. In 1997, our son Kevin suffered a near-fatal spinal cord injury in Canada. He was instantly paralyzed from the neck down and stopped breathing. Someone provided CPR and kept him alive until help arrived. It was a miracle he survived long enough to be life-flighted to a hospital in Calgary.
Soon the word “impossible” began to be tossed at us, first at the Calgary hospital as the doctor made his case for euthanasia, then later at the rehabilitation hospital in the States. As God helped Kevin conquered each impossible, new ones sprang up before us. He almost died two more times in the early weeks post-injury. As each stone rolled away from the decree of death, new obstacles littered our path.
That pattern has not changed in the twenty-four years we have journeyed this road. Each day, we face the impossible. Each day, God makes a way.
As we trudge the slopes of disaster, I gather the gems from the muck and put them with my treasures. I’ve learned how much God loves people and seen the intensity with which He invests in life. Whether I’m writing about parenting or caregiving or the stories of the elders, I am blessed to find the colors of life burst upon the dark canvas of struggle.
Whatever your story is, I’m glad you’re here.
Life is a gift. Let’s treasure what we have in this moment and trust God to keep eternity safe for us, for the day when the lame walk and God dries our tear-stained faces.
That day’s coming. Until then, we will conquer whatever comes, together. No matter what you’re going through right now, you can be assured you are never, ever alone. You’re important to God, and you’re important to me.