September 6 is the 20th anniversary of the horrific car accident that changed our family’s lives forever. The pictures show the devastation of our van in the accident.
The neurosurgeon said If Carla survived at all, she might live 10 years, but it wouldn’t be a great life, probably in a vegetative state due to the many brain hemorrhages she suffered. Today we celebrate 20 years, and Carla has certainly not been in a vegetative state and we thank God daily for healing her brain.
We continue to share the blessing of a very good life together in spite of countless medical procedures and surgeries. When asked how she can remain so positive, Carla says she has gotten to see all 3 of her kids marry, and she enjoys spending time with her 7 grandkids and these have blessed her greatly. It’s not the life we had expected to live, but at least we get to live it together and do what God gives us to do which is to encourage, equip, and empower parents to raise obedient, respectful, and responsible kids in today’s challenging world.
A few years ago, we wrote a one chapter story about the accident and how it has impacted our lives that was published in the book, “Trusting in God: Stories That Inspire” by Authors for Christ. You can read it below. This will tell you more of what happened and the extent of our injuries.
18 years ago, we put together a 10 minute video about the accident and what we went through the first 2 years following it.
What advice can we give to people who go through tragedy or a life that doesn’t go the way we expected it to? We encourage you to remember God is still God, and the One who gives us life and the One who can take it away. He also is the One who allows the events in our lives to happen for a reason. We believe God allows us to go through things for reasons we don’t understand, but how we choose to go through them will definitely impact our attitude and will determine how we reflect God to the world. We can either choose to accept God’s plan and purpose for our lives and enjoy the blessings we get in and through them, or we can be miserable and make others around us miserable too as we deal with how we think life is not fair or how life’s circumstances have unfairly mistreated us. How we live our lives is a choice! Carla has had an amazing attitude through all she has gone through and the daily hard pain she lives with. I believe this is a big reason why she is still alive and able to enjoy life. Her healthy, positive attitude allows me to continue enjoying time with her daily, my best friend! She often says, I can chose to be a victim or victorious over my life’s circumstances.
Thank you to all you who have encouraged us and prayed for us over the last 20 years!
