It was only a second of inattention on the bicycle, riding across a quiet street to a sidewalk I hit a protruding, “round ball of leaves” shoulder high. Though I had ridden this route for years, I discovered this day that it was not leaves only, but a sturdy tree hidden by the leaves. I had noticed and avoided the overgrown palmettos and oak branches draping over the sidewalk in this spot every time. This day, I did not.
It was December
2021, at three in the afternoon on a slight downward slope, I hit the hidden
tree on my left side, the impact threw me on my right side; I fell to the
sidewalk and a strip of grass: the right clavicle and pelvis hit hard and
fractured. I lay there on the ground, stunned.
When I
looked up a young woman was standing over me, her two young sons waiting in her
car. “Do you have a cell phone?” She called Eric (who was on a “tracker” backup).
Two Police Officers were there it seemed in seconds and stood by asking
questions about how I felt, could I see clearly, did my head hurt? They stayed watch
until the ambulance drove me away. Another man appeared who knew the
neighborhood I live in and told the officers, “I know her, she rides by my
Sunoco Station often. What Sunoco Station? I still do not know. The Ambulance
arrived, a fire truck behind me, the police car all lights flashing. When the
Medic asked if I wanted to go to a Hospital, I was not ready to make that
decision. I asked the senior Officer, “What do you think?” Ambulance medics answered my request to help
me stand up…stood around poking to see where the pain originated. When they
allowed me to try to stand alone, I would have collapsed, except that they were
ready, I decided to go to the hospital.
This
accident is only worth telling because I believe this: *“In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” That Wednesday was cool and sunny. I had been
especially positive as I rode, filled with gratitude that I had a bicycle, a
safe route, the ability, and freedom to ride. (This mistake was not stupidity;
my husband had led the way years before by riding to work on a bicycle. He had
read Bicycling Magazine, the rules and regulations, safety habits and he had
bought me a bicycle like his when we were first married. We rode together and
with our three sons for family outings.)
His hip replacement hindered him for now, so I decided to make bicycle
riding a personal pursuit… until he could ride again.
God has our
best interests in His plan for His people. What do I learn from this? This is a
fresh experience in early 2022. When I rode, often I would pray, meditate on
Scripture. I had prayed that day, “LORD, please give me stronger faith.” Then I
remembered the disciples had made the same request to Jesus. His response was,
“If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this sycamine tree,
‘Be plucked up by the root, and be planted in the sea; and it should obey
you.’” Lord, I have faith, help me to
exercise it, apply it, believe You.
About an
hour later, I was lying on the ground with two fractures. There is a sure
promise, *“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” It does! It always
will!
Can this be?
I am glad it happened. It is opportunity to gain experience, to believe God: *“Who
comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which
are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
Therapists,
a designated doctor from the hospital, equipment sent home with me are new
blessings. I do not walk right now, not really, but a wheelchair is an awesome
way to travel the around the house. This is an effective way to know by
experience what others go through
*Proverbs
3:6. 12; Luke 17:6; Romans 8:28; 2
Corinthians 1:4
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