Isaiah 40:31: But those who hope in the Lord… will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
I didn’t feel physically ready to begin a mile run. I was soaking wet, muddy, bloody and barefoot and my turf was a rocky, gravel road in Western Montana. I hadn’t even started and I was already gasping for breath. Some of it was from shock after just being in a serious van wreck. But some of it was exhaustion from wading through deep water, pulling and helping people to safety. I shivered in the 90 degree heat. In normal circumstances, it would have been ridiculous to consider going for a run. But these were not normal circumstances.
People needed rescuing- including my 7 year old son. And I was the only one who could go. As my physical body screamed “no!” my emotional state said, “go!” Yes, there was pain in my neck, lungs, legs and arms. The gravel tore through the flesh on my feet- rocks embedding in them. It would take weeks to get them all out. But my adrenaline was so amped up, there was nothing stopping me. And even though I was completely alone on that road, I never felt it. God was with me every excruciating step of the way. He abled me to put one foot in front of the other, and I ran. At one point I thought I might collapse from exhaustion. Regretfully, I slowed to a walk so I wouldn’t fall. But I kept my head up, straining to see into the yard of the house I was moving toward.
I prayed someone was home. And then I saw what I thought was movement. “Is my mind playing tricks on me or is that a person?” I wondered. And then I was sure. “Yes, it’s a person walking in the yard!” This brought me back to a run and I started to yell for help and wave my arms to make sure he saw me. It appeared that he stopped and stared at me, and then he began jogging to a four wheeler. “Yes! He sees me!” I was still running as I entered their driveway. The person turned out to be a 14 year old boy named Garrett. (That's him pictured above on his four-wheeler.) As he reached me, I spit out fragmented sentences through deep inhaling and exhaling, “There’s been a terrible accident! We need help! People are really hurt. The driver is under water!”
The boy’s eyes were large and fearful. I’m sure I was frightful! But he had quick wit and told me to climb on the back of his four-wheeler. He whipped it around and drove me to the front of his house. He threw open the door and I ran in. “Help! I need a phone!” The boy’s family was seated in their living room. Garrett’s younger sister saw me and started screaming. His dad jumped out of his lazy boy recliner and immediately took to action. Garrett brought me the phone but with shock, seemed unable to operate it. I took it from him and dialed 911 while shouting instructions to his father who then hopped on a vehicle and sped to the accident scene. The 911 dispatcher answered my call and I quickly explained our situation. A few moments later, I climbed into the family’s truck and Garrett’s Mom took me back to the scene.
The first thing I did when I returned was to hug Anders. He was still on the side of the road, right where I left him. Garrett’s Mom and sister then asked if they could take Anders back to their home and I agreed. Getting him away from the chaotic scene made sense. This also allowed me to turn my focus back to the victims who were sitting in mud, in pain and afraid.
When the accident happened, we were on our way to a cattle ranch. The day was to be pleasant as our group of passengers planned to sit in camp chairs under a shade tree, drink lemonade and learn about life as a cattle rancher. Now, those camp chairs were dispersed all over the scene, some floating in the creek. The idea came to set up the chairs and get the passengers a bit more comfortable as we waited for an ambulance. Garrett’s Mom thought to bring blankets and bottles of water for the victims. She was such a God-send. She even brought me back a pair of shoes to wear! First responders from local ranches were now arriving. One of them asked me to sit with some victims who needed comforting. As I did, I assessed our pathetic situation- the shivering, injured, bloody victims, our overturned van sitting in water, and our deceased driver. And the only emotion I felt at that moment was indescribable gratitude! I decided to voice this to our group as we huddled on a muddy bank.
“Guys, I know this sounds crazy, but I believe we have a lot to be thankful for right now. Do you mind if I pray?” And then I began an audible conversation with the Lord right then and there. “Dear God, even though we are really scared and hurt right now, we just want to thank you for being with us. You protected and spared those of us sitting here and we are grateful. Amen.” My prayer might have been confusing to those in my company. But to me it felt so natural expressing my gratitude to God in that moment. Because when I looked at the driver, and I looked at our van, and I saw my son, I knew it could have been so much worse. Shortly after my “Amen”, the sound of a siren could be heard.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Thessalonians 5:18