When God's Details Bring You Full Circle

More times than not, I ask God to be in the details of my day. When I say that prayer, I never have specific intentions, I wholeheartedly want God to take the wheel when it comes to details, big and small. Sometimes it means he gives me an extra green light instead of red, so I'm not as late, and sometimes I know it means He's in details so big, I'm not even aware of them until much much later.

Today, the gentleman who saved dads life, Shawn, came by the hospital for a visit.

Before I go into the story too much, I'll give you some details on his role in the accident.

Shawn is currently the chief police in the next small town over from us. He is also state certified to be a full paramedic along with a Master Police Officer licenses. He's been in the law/medical field for 33 years.

When Shawn heard the call about my dad, he was on his way to the store for printer paper. Because printers are such a pain in our ass, right? Gah. He says, "that day was just one of those days where you didn't feel like you had a purpose. Like why did I even come to work today?" When he heard the call, he was approximately 5-8 miles away. He recognized the location of the accident and immediately turned around. He made it to dad very quickly, flying at the appropriate speed of 90mph, right through town. :)

He drove his car right up to the tractor/plow, and started working on dad right instatly. He carries a tourniquet on his belt, at all times, and along with his quick thinking and skill, having the tourniquet was the game changer. From the start, to getting him on the helicopter, he estimates everything took about 8 minutes or less. That's some very quick work when you're trying to save a life, on the other hand, those 8 minutes were essential to my dads life because he was SO severely injured. Shawn said in all his career, he's never had to use 2 tourniquets, until that day.

Later that night, the flight team came to visit us in the ICU and said they've never seen anything like it. They said normally, when they arrive, the assess the patient a little longer before they are loaded on the chopper, but in this case, everything had already been done when they landed. They no more had time to open the door to the helicopter, and Shawn had him there, ready to be loaded. Dad stayed awake the entire time, talking his way through the pain, and as Shawn said, being stubborn.

Fast forward to a couple days ago when I posted the initial blog about dads accident, Shawn sent me a very heartfelt message about how he can't stop thinking about this particular call, not just because dads injuries were so severe, but because he felt a connection there, and wasn't sure why. I invited him to come sit with us at the hospital, so we could talk things out and possibly all gain a bit of peace from that day.

He came to see us today. Dad hasn't been up for visitors lately, but was very ready to see Shawn. He remembers the entire accident and knows Shawn played a huge role in saving his life. He and dad were doing a play by play of the accident, each sharing what they remember from that day.

Coming from experience, I know how important it is to talk about these things. Jim, my hero from my accident, and I talk about it all the time; it's been almost 24 years. He often tells me what he remembers and how he felt, while I share the same with him. Dad's accident and injuries are 10 times worse than mine ever thought about being, but at the same time, it's opened some very difficult doors from the past for me. I know how it feels to recall and remember every detail from the moments you almost died, I know what it feels like to wish you would pass out from the pain, instead of feeling it all, and I know the anger and depression that comes with knowing your body will never be the same. I won't lie, it's been a hard 2 weeks in ways I didn't think I'd have to relive again.

But back to the details, because that's why we are here, God's details and His need to make things come full circle.

When dad and Shawn were talking, I told dad, "isn't it something that we BOTH lived through something so traumatic, and now we both have real life hero's in our life to thank?" I knew Shawn didn't know about my accident because until August 23rd, he was a stranger to us, so I briefly started telling the story of my accident, to keep him up to date. I started with the usual, "I was in a school bus accident when I was 10, the driver lost control and over corrected to the right, and when he did that the bus fell to its right." Shawn interrupted me with goosebumps on his arms and a look of shock over his face...he said, "are you kidding me right now??" {I thought he was saying that because he was upset the driver had lost control} When I told him I was for real, he said,

"I was there. I was the first cop on the scene of that accident. Y'all crashed right in front of a car dealership and a movie theater, going northbound. I was there. I was inside the bus with you for a while. I was there when the paramedics arrived and put your tourniquet on. I stayed by you until I knew they were taking care of you and then I went and tended to the other kids. I was there that day."

You guys? I was a moment I can't explain. I'm still processing it in fact, and so is he. I went and gave him a big hug, right next to my dads hospital bed. It was a moment for us all. My mom was speechless of course, we all were.

I've had a few hours to sit on it and mostly I'm still at a loss, but a few things I took away from today,

-never question whether or not God has a plan. Because he ALWAYS does. Trust in it.

-you should always ask that He be in the details of your day because you never know, he might send you a missing puzzle piece from 24 years prior, that you never even knew you needed.

-life is so so so much bigger than the petty things we complain about (guilty AF)

-I have a purpose. My dad has a purpose. Shawn has a purpose. And you have a purpose. We just have to be patient and trust it will be shown to us one day.

-my life literally is a book and I need to get it written already.

-this is the kinda shit that'll get me onto Ellen.

Seriously, y'all. Life has made a circle. And it was on purpose. Please find something valuable in this post and hold it to your heart. People go through tragic events and a lot of times, I believe it's so those around them will learn their lesson.

Love to you all. Thank you for the continued prayers for my family.

My prayers are with those across the country whose lives have been destroyed by rain and fire. Stay strong.

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