Words from WW Blog

About a week ago my son-in-law had a seventy to eighty pound capstone fall from eighteen feet and hit him in the back of the head. Kevin and his dad have a plumbing business and he was working on the lower level of a house that was being renovated.

Needless to say, the accident could, maybe should, have been fatal. Two days in ICU and another two days in the hospital after that, he was then discharged to return home and rest. The rest and recovery will take weeks and there will probably be ongoing repercussions from that one moment that will affect the rest of his life.

Each one of us has those moments, those accidental encounters, that result in struggles, regrets, or questions that begin with why. Kevin is an awesome person, great dad, follower of Jesus, and great son-in-law. If fairness were the determining factor, the capstone would have landed close by but made no contact. But sometimes life isn’t fair. It’s a journey through jungles, and deserts, mountains and valleys. Ask just about anyone of the families who lost one or more loved ones to COVID-19. Ask the families who lost their homes in the fire a few months ago that ravaged part of a Colorado community. Ask the people who endured a December tornado in Kentucky. Or, thinking globally, the millions of Ukrainian refugees who fled their homes and what they were accustomed to simply because a tyrant has decided he wants their land.

In the midst of life’s falling moments however we learn several important lessons. We find out what our life is based on and what it is anchored to. We find out who is willing to walk the confusing walk with us, who’s willing to let us lean on them as we struggle along. We learn that there is an inner strength that is a part of our being that we didn’t know about. We’re able to discern that there a great amount of clutter in our lives that is either unnecessary or hindering the pursuit of our purpose.

Last fall a young lady on my middle school cross country team was struggling to finish the race. She stopped with less than a quarter-mile left in the race and vomited. One of her teammates who was a few yards in front of her heard the concerned comments of a few spectators, turned around, and went back to her teammate. She helped her, almost carried her, to the finish line. A few days later the helping teammate passed out when she was overcome with heat during a practice run. The teammate who she had helped returned the care in a situation where paramedics had to be called.

Sometimes life falls on us and sometimes we’re the ones who pick up the fallen. I’m overwhelmed by the stories of the fallen people that Jesus picked up, from a blind man, a cripple, and a diseased outcast to grief-stricken sisters and a friendless tax collector. My hope is that when life falls on me someone who is like Jesus-with-skin-on is there to pick me up; and, vice versa, I’m able to be Jesus-with-skin-on for another fallen brother or sister.

This entry was posted on April 10, 2022 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.