1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves,
then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good
time. Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.”
This is a verse that I have stumbled upon many times, but
never really let it speak
to me until recently. I can’t remember a time in my life when my Mom did not tell me… “If it is
something we need, God will provide.” And I can’t remember a time in my
life when God has not come through for me and for my family if we fully put our trust in His
will and His perfect timing.
Let me preface this with a little background, for those
who may not know my family
so well. As my oldest brother once said..."It seems like another lifetime ago and yet it was an event that so adversely affected
us that the effects are still around all these years later." The day was September
29, 1990. It was the day that changed my father’s life – and my family’s life forever. It was a
typical day on the farm, except for the fact that my Mom was in Jeff
City for a teacher workday. After lunch my Dad went back outside to work on the farm, but it wasn't long before a typical day turned into a nightmare for my family. My Dad was found with his left leg pinned under the bucket of a tractor. He was sent
to SLU hospital where he underwent 7 surgeries in a week’s time – the final one was to amputate his left leg
below the knee. During this time, we did not know if my father would live – but God had bigger plans for
our family and my Dad came through the accident. Our small town parish
and many strangers were a huge blessing in this time, and would prove to be a blessing for my
family in the years to come as well.
My dad has had the same prosthetic leg for years now. (I think somewhere around 7ish, but as a horse trainer, para professional and Deacon of 2 parishes, that doesn't leave much time for resting!) It
has been duct taped, glued
and held together by who knows what. I have always been concerned about what could happen with a leg in
this bad of shape, but even more so since pursuing a degree in
Occupational Therapy the past couple of years. It has brought to the surface many things that I never
thought about before. What if he falls? He isn’t as young as he used to be. This is my Dad we are
talking about. I all of a sudden felt a very tiny fraction of what my
parents go through when they worry about me. With that being said, I am sure Dad has gotten tired of me
bugging him about getting a new leg – it became a frequent conversation
during our every other day
phone calls and my visits home. There was only one problem – insurance
does not always cover more than one prosthetic in a person’s lifetime, and in our case
vocational rehab was not willing to help pay for another leg at that time.
I know our God is an awesome God, so I turned to him with
a desperate plea for help.
I knew my parents could not bear the financial burden that would be placed upon them if
they had to pay out of pocket for a new leg for my Dad. Another thing I
learned in OT school – they are EXPENSIVE. For the past two years I prayed for a miracle – some way
to help my parents out. I turned to a few close friends and asked them
to pray as well, one of
them being one of my longtime friend, Levi Rash. Levi
is now a missionary in Boston, so we sometimes Skype with each other since the visits are so
few and far between. One night while I was talking with Levi over Skype,
I broke down. I told him I did not know how or if my prayer would ever be answered. Like he always
does, he assured me that if it was God’s will it would happen. I just
needed to be patient. He
also promised to pray as well and encouraged me to turn to scripture to
find peace with the situation.
This is where my happy ending begins to unravel. I moved
back in with my parents in
December to finish up my clinicals. One night, a man from our church called and asked if
he could stop by the house. As soon as Mom got off the phone, I felt in
my heart that God was about to answer my longtime prayer. He sat down with Mom and Pops and
simply told him that he, along with other parishioners were concerned
about the state of my
father’s leg and they wanted to help with the cost – whatever it was. As
I sat at the dinner table, overhearing their conversation I thought to myself – Does this man know how
much it costs to go through the process of fitting my dad for a new leg?
The story does not end there though.
Dad went to vocational rehab to turn in the paperwork, get an estimate,
etc. As it turns out, vocational rehab decided they were going to cover half the cost of the leg,
with the other half being covered by the generous members of our parish.
I am thankful, blessed, and humbled by the actions of the people of our small town church family.
They have shown me multiple times in my 24 years of life what it is like
to take care of our
brothers and sisters in Christ. They have continually shown us God’s
abundant love and showered us with His blessings. The following verse was a light for me during this time and has reminded me of all those who have once again been faithful to living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ through their love and actions.
Holy Rosary and St. Stephen's (better known as "Swinkey") Parishes - you may be just a spot on the map off of Highway 24, but you will always and forever hold a special place in this girl's heart.
Galations
6:2, 10 “Help
carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ.
So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, and
especially to those who belong to our family in faith.”
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| Old leg! |
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| New leg! |
