As I was walking down the small embankment, there on the side of the hill was the most beautiful squash plant. (Side note: my mom loves gardening, and we had a huge backyard garden. Unfortunately, that year, all of her squash plants had been infected with a fungus. They all shriveled up and died without producing much fruit.) But, now, as if God was giving me a physical sign that everything would be ok, here was this glorious squash plant loaded with perfect squash. I stopped to briefly appreciate the plant and made a mental note to come back another day, a day in which I was not so distraught, and gather God's rich abundance.
When I got home, I did not know what to do. My dad was out of town for a business meeting. We only had two cars, which meant I was stuck at home. I received a call from the ambulance service telling me which hospital they were going to take my mom to. I thanked the man for his call, but knowing this information made me even more nervous. My mom was hurt and was going to the hospital. Oh how I wished I could be with her at that moment. I patiently waited what seemed like an eternity for my dad to arrive home. Finally, I decided to call my dad and ask where he was. Thankfully, my dad answered his mobile phone. He was driving and was about 30 minutes from home. I did not divulge to my dad any details about my mom's car accident. Instead, I hung up the phone and tried to distract myself for the next 30 minutes.
When my dad pulled into the driveway, I immediately, and as calmly as I could, ran out of the house to meet my dad. I tried to casually say we needed to go to the city, about a 20 minute drive away. My dad seemed a bit confused, but he did not question me. As we were nearing the exit for the hospital, I quickly blurted out, "We need to exit here. Mom has been in a slight car accident. She is not seriously hurt. We need to pick her up from the hospital." Although I was not sure about any of the information I relayed to my dad, I desperately wanted to believe it was true.
When we arrived at the hospital, we were told my mom would be out shortly. After waiting 90 minutes, my mom was finally discharged from the emergency department. My mom looked bedraggled and very disoriented, but she was able to speak and was able to stagger out the door. On the way home, my mom related to us what happened. She was near Walmart on a two-lane country road. She slowed up to make a left-hand turn. A car was barreling down the road behind her at 50 miles an hour down the hill. The driver seemed to be distracted and did not break until just a few feet before she slammed into the back of my mom's car. My mom's car was pushed across the oncoming lane of traffic and thankfully came to a stop at the entrance to the road that leads to Walmart (out of the oncoming lane of traffic). My mom's car as well as the other car were total loses.
Upon arriving home, my mom immediately went to the couch to lie down. She instantly fell asleep. The next day, my mom did not move. She aroused from her sleepy stupor a few times, but she was mostly unconscious for the entire day. The same thing happened for the next several days. I knew something was not right. I knew she must have suffered whiplash and possibly had an injury to her brain. As I hovered over my mom for those days, I kept praying to God to heal my mom. I kept repeating Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." I would scream out to God, "I am standing on Your promises. I am trusting that everything will be ok. Make this all work out for good. Heal my mom!"
Slowly over the next year, my mom showed signs of improvement. She very gradually was able to leave the couch. Very slowly, she could walk using a cane but often would nearly fall over due to dizziness and unsteadiness on her feet. My mom had dyskinesia episodes in which her body would shake uncontrollably, almost like a prolonged seizure. It seemed my mom had injured part of her brain. Her brain needed time to heal, and her body had to re-learn how to communicate with her brain. It was a very slow process, but my mom did show improvements. During this entire time, I was incredibly sorrowful. Why hadn't I stopped my mom's car? Why did I not listen to the voice screaming at me? Why was I so disobedient? Full of much anguish, I made a promise to God. I vowed I would be obedient for one year.
(Link to Part One click here)
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