Isaiah 43:1-3
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
August 28th, 2022 was the 55th anniversary of a day that in the moment was less then celebratory. But as time has passed and perspective gained, it is, indeed, a day of gratitude and thanksgiving. It was a day that caused those of us involved to become more thankful for the Gift of life. It was an incident that would bring Wisdom and Humility, Joy, and momentary Sorrow for what appeared to be tremendous loss. In GREAT SUFFERING there was shown a path through and a way over the obstacles. In the GREAT SUFFERING I, personally, gained a new friend, Compassion.
On the morning of August 28, 1967, my sister, Diane, and I were in a truck/train collision. While we both managed to get out of the stalled vehicle, I was not able to avoid being in the path of the oncoming train.
The truck was struck by the train which then rolled over me and threw me 90 feet down the tracks. My father rushed to my side and said my high-top Chuck Taylor tennis shoes were setting next to me, firmly tied. That was the power that struck me: knocked me right out of the shoes. He said that it was as if someone had poured a 5-gallon bucket of red barn paint all over me. I was given 24 to 48 hours to live. My pelvis was broken in four places, my left cheek was broken, there was nerve damage to my head (to this day), internal injuries, nine units of blood transfusions, and I had to be re-trained to walk again. Nine weeks later I was able to go back to life as “normal.”
A story is told of what appears to be tragic. However, the storyteller simply says at EVERY turn of the story, “maybe it is or maybe it isn’t? Time will tell.”
Or is it our response to the circumstance rather than the “lapsed time” that “will tell?” Do we find God’s goodness in what the world would call tragic or sorrowful, loss or failure? Do we see His Purposes and His Plans for the Furtherance of His Good News? Do we discover His beauty that is best expressed in our lives through suffering because the world will have the opportunity to meet our new friend, Compassion. Then our world will be able to sit at His feet and soak up Compassion’s wisdom and humility and joy. Our new friend, Compassion, desires to remain in close relationship with us, but longs to be given away. But you can’t give away what you don’t have. Most of us walk away from the possibility of suffering and, therefore, have little to give away. Compassion has a BIG heart and can carry the load. Embrace Him and then give Him away.
“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
