God In The Midst of The “Fire”
Twenty years ago to the day our lives were shaken, our faith stretched yet our confidence in God grew.
The phone rang, it was my husband Troy. His voice was distant and urgent! He had run his hand through the table saw and needed help! I was bathing our young daughters–at best it would take a minimum of half an hour to reach him.
I hung up the phone while praying my heart out, then dialed my parents and relayed the message. My father was at Troy’s side within minutes.
As soon as possible I rushed to the hospital. Tears stung my eyes as I glanced at his mangled hand. The saw had not spared one finger of his right hand including his thumb. The only thing keeping his fingers from completely being severed was a thin flap of skin. I was sick, I wanted to puke. Within a couple hours he was on a jet headed to a large center where he could get specialized care.
I returned home in shock. That evening I received a phone call from the surgeon. He told me Troy’s hand looked as though a grenade had gone off in it. The knuckles resembled Rice Krispies. He said he had done his best to pack them back where his knuckles should have been. He warned me Troy would need more surgeries and was expected to lose at least one finger.
What would happen to us? We had recently built a house which had drained us of every last penny. I was a stay-at-home Mom and now my husband would be unable to work in our cabinet shop. Where was God? He could have prevented the accident.
I lay in the dark, reflecting on the days events. Although at a glance God appeared to be absent, I knew in my heart He was there.
At that time, the only form of communication had been a land based telephone. Troy had managed to knock off the receiver with his elbow, then with his baby finger on his good hand press the preset number for home. He had yelled into the receiver but was unable to hang up the phone. Normally this would have kept the line open and prevented me from calling my parents, but I WAS ABLE. God was there!
When the doctor called for a medevac he was told a jet was on its way to pick up another patient. Not only did help come faster, the cost for the flight was shared. God was there!
The word spread quickly. Friends and family rallied and paid the plane fair for me and our girls to fly to where my husband was. For the next four months food and money arrived just when we needed it most. Not one bill was skipped and all our needs were met! God was there!
Once the cast was removed and therapy started, my father faithfully went to work with Troy being his extra set of hands while he relearned how to do things. Although Troy lost his knuckles preventing him from being able to bend his fingers, he never lost his fingers and no additional surgeries were needed. Eventually most of the feeling returned! God was there!
The Canadian Government provided him a special lift for the big sheets of plywood and also a grant for a drilling machine. When all was said and done he ended up with a more efficient way of doing things in the shop and production time had decreased significantly. God was there!
Satan meant it for harm but God in His Providence over-ruled it for good. This experience would be the first in a string of many proving that God knows best.
If God kept us in a bubble, — free from all heartache and trouble, how would we learn to depend on Him? No parent would keep their child confined preventing them from learning to walk to protect them from falling. No, our Heavenly Father sees the big picture, its during times of hardship that we grow. Like a parent teaching their child to walk He never abandons us. For God is there!
“When you go through deep water, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; The flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God… you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. Do not be afraid, for I am with you…” Isaiah 43:1-4 NLT
This reminds me of the verse ‘ seek the Lord and his strength..seek his face continually ‘. Its been one of my go to verses for awhile. It’s hard to do sometimes in the middle of the storm but most definitely gives me strength through the storm.
God is good. And faithful. Thank you for sharing. Have a blessed day.
Thank you, I needed this today 🙂
This reminded me so much of a time in my early Christian experience, when Rex was not a Christian but respected my beliefs. He was out of work & not happy. A job, driving a water truck for the company that was paving the road past our place, became available. Problem, he would have to work on Sabbath. He said God would want him to support his family & proceeded to apply. The 2 kids & I prayed he wouldn’t get the job. He got it but needed to get a special license to drive it. We prayed he wouldn’t pass the test. He passed. I thought, “God, where are You? You have always answered my prayers to the letter & now You are not. What is going on?”
Well, I awoke in the night to the sound of rain. It rained steadily for the next 2-3 weeks while they did the paving so they never needed the water truck. This taught me that God’s ways are not my ways & His thoughts are not my thoughts. Since then I have left the answering of my prayers up to Him but I KNOW He does hear & answer.
You are so right, I also needed to be reminded of this today. Sorry I didn’t reply earlier my website has had some hick ups I’m just seeing the posts now.
What a beautiful testimony Shawna, of Gods faithfulness!! And oh the things you did not share which happened during those times. Im sure there were very trying moments! But as you said, “God was there”! God is so good & has a purpose for everything! We learn as we grow & altho we certainly dont want to go through the fire in order to learn something, at times thats what it takes! I pray that you & your husband are at a better place today & continue to be blessed! Thank you for sharing your story!! God bless!!?
Thank you. Yes, my husband said “there was so much more you could have said” and he’s right. We are in a better place God is forever good and faithful all the time. I have been having trouble with my website so only saw your message today. Thank you again for you encouragement.
God Bless you all! Praise Jesus! God healed Troy God provided for you throughout this difficult time in your lives with friends families finances etc! We have an Amazing God we serve trust obey and love! Love you all!❤️?❤️
Thank you Tamila <3
Thank you Shawna. You’re writing and life stories touch me deeply. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Krista “… our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has give us.” 1 Corinthians 1:3 & H NLT
Thanks for sharing.
I can’t stop crying. I needed to hear this as I can now see I have a very blessed life. My problems are small in comparison. Shawna, I applaud your faith and our God who has brought you through. Praise His holy name! I thank Him for you. You are always a blessing to this struggling artist.
Thank you Pam <3 I was having problems with my website so only now saw your comment. Little or small God our problems still can get us down but God is bigger than them all and is right by our side in the midst of the storm.
Just WOW God is ever present, even if you need hindsight to see Him. He never leaves us, it is us that forgets to realize that He is there always
This totally blessed me Shawna! Thank you for sharing this❤️
Shawna, your inspiring telling of Troy’s hand accident underlines God’s love and providence all the way. That’s something that we all need to remember and be reminded of. God bless you both as you continue laboring for Him where you are. Your lights are shining….
Thank you Elaine. May you have a Blessed Christmas