Memorial Box Monday...The Accident

Don't forget to check out the 'Coffee and Espresso Maker Give Away to help a family adopting from Uganda Click Here To See It!

     Wow....somehow I cannot believe that it is Monday already! Yesterday was such a beautiful day. I love being a Mama. This Mother's Day seemed to be on full saturation, vivid color all day long. I just want to savor it...the kids running in the yard with friends, sweet presents made by kids with big expectant eyes and sticky hands. Dumptruck races down the hill in our yard (yep, they rode in the Tonka trucks) .Hugs and hugs and hugs. And the best husband ever, more than I could ever dream of orchestrating it all. I fully believe this morning that the things we have to wait for, struggle for and trust the Lord for are by far the sweetest.
     Before I share my Memorial Box story, I have a Parker story I just have to share! One of the things Doug did for my Mother's Day was get the kids a new kiddie pool. He worked really hard and built a platform for it so that it won't get all yucky and is very stable for the kids. As he was working Parker pointed to the pool and asked, "Mama, what's this called?" I looked and him and said, "Well, it's a kiddie pool." His head dropped down and he said in a quiet, crushed voice, "I guess I can't go in it then...I'm not a Kitty." Oh I love that little guy!

         So now to Memorial Box Monday. If you have not heard of the Memorial Box Monday yet, it is a time to remember something that God has done in our lives. The Bible talks about 'building an altar' and 'telling our children the stories of what God has done'. So on Memorial Box Monday, some of us have joined Linny to share and remember the awesome God we serve. A Memorial Box is a place where you place actual items to remind you of each story. If you want to read a bunch of my stories you can click  Here to read even more check out A Place Called Simplicity

      Back in the late 90s I was a backpacking guide at a Young Life camp called Wilderness Ranch. Campers would come to the Ranch for a week at a time and spend almost all of their time backpacking. We would hike through the San Juan mountain range of Colorado teaching kids about the love of God. I can say without a doubt that I learned far more than I ever taught. One of these lessons came in a strange package.

     It was the first trip of the summer in 1996, the mountains were still so laden with snow that there were virtually no trails. Our packs were so heavy with winter gear that we had to help each other hoist them on. It was map & compass back then, no gadets or gizmos to help us figure it all out! We were in the middle of our trip and had just crested a towering ridge. Weary from the arduous grunt that felt like we were trudging upwards for hours (wait, we were)...we all looked forward to the glissade down the other side. Glissading is a term for basically 'sliding' in a semi-guided way down the hill either on your heels or your backside. This was a first for these Texan high schoolers so, as one of the guides I decided to go first. The ride was exhilerating, sun glinting off the snow, wind in my hair, in a world all my own, I can still almost feel it now. As I neared the bottom of the hill, I dug in my heels to slow down. Then, my left foot disappeared quickly into the snow, I had found a hole!

     "Well, this is embarrassing," I thought...but someone can help me dig out. I turned back to get the attention of one of the other guides when SMACK! I was hit from behind by an eager and out of control high schooler. My heavy pack swung around and I fell, leg still very much stuck in the hole. Pain shot through my knee and I knew something was deeply wrong. I smiled, not wanting to worry anyone and worked to dig my leg out of the hole. I could put weight on it, but every step was agony.

     We were a 3 day hike from the closest trailhead. There was nothing to do but keep going on our same course. The other guides helped lighten my pack as much as possible and we kept on going. Those three days felt like forever, I tucked in at the back of the line hoping that the kids would not notice that I swung my left leg completely straight with every step. As I hiked, I remember praying and singing "Oh God, You are my God and I will ever praise you....I will seek You in the morning and learn to walk in Your ways and step by step You'll lead me and I'll follow You all of my days." Never had those words felt more true as I trusted the Lord for every literal step out in that frozen Colorado wilderness.

     We made it out and back to camp and a found my roomate who was a physical therapy major. She felt around and did a 'drop test' on my knee and then said, "I'm pretty sure that you have torn your miniscus..." If this was so, I would be out for the rest of the summer. I made an appointment with a knee specialist in Denver and was off to see him the next day.

    In his little office he examined my knee and agreed that, even without imaging, I had a pretty bad tear in my miniscus. He ordered an MRI for the next morning just so they could see the extent of the tear and told me that they would call me for a surgery date. Then as I was getting ready to leave with a monstrous brace on my knee, he hesitated. He said, "I feel like I am supposed to do something, would you mind if I prayed for you?" Of course that was fine! So he place his hand on my knee and prayed, prayed for healing, prayed for Wilderness Ranch, prayed for my life. I thanked him and hobbled on my way.

    That night I went to a service my church in Denver. I sat in the back and cried and prayed. I loved guiding intensely and was so broken over the idea of surgery and having to be done in the mountains for the summer. The next morning, I got up and went to the MRI . I remember thinking that the brace must be pretty awesome because I did not feel any pain.

    Later that day, the phone call came. On the other end was the knee specialist and these were his words, "You are never going to believe this...the MRI is perfectly clear. I have no doubt that God has performed a miracle! Your knee is healed!"

     Your knee is healed!!!!!! I got up and did a little dance and sure enough, that knee of mine held up perfectly!!!! God performed a real live miracle in me...little old me!!!!!!!

      

                         One of the trips later that summer!

 The rest of the summer was amazing and I had no doubt of exactly where I was supposed to be, wandering in the San Juan mountains teaching kids about Jesus! I have had 2 MRIs for different things since then and have always asked if there is any sign of an old miniscus tear...the answer "Nope, not at all!"

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

In my Memorial box? One of Parker's little hiking Boots!