I will not be posting for a couple weeks after this, because we will be flying to IL for a 2nd memorial service for Steven on 7/9/11 at 10:00am at Eureka Bible Church, Eureka, IL.

Part of my Bible reading this morning was 1 Peter 1:9:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, God's own purchased special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Amplified Bible

God did so many "wonderful deeds" in Steven's brain injury, deeds guided by His unbelievable love for us and by His desire to see us become everything that He created us to become. Some of those "deeds" were the awesome ways He prepared Steven and me beforehand. Some were things that God did in others' lives through Steven's brain injury and subsequent life. A major part of those "deeds" were changes God so wisely and graciously made in my life and Steven's life.

One change was precipitated by seeing (shortly before the collision) our friend Tammie Leman keeping a daily journal of "things to be thankful for" during the time her small son, Tyler, was undergoing treatment for cancer. I still have the resulting "thank you, Lord" lists that I started after the 9/26/93 collision, as soon as I was able to write. Here are a few things pulled at random from that list....

1st week of hospital stay
1. Nurses and staff marvelous! I love them all!!
2. Beautiful room, w/ extra bed for my sister Diane to lay down and rest
3. Church coordinating thousands of things!
4. Sunset

10/5/93
1. Steven breathing on his own a little!
2. Man talked to Andy, hears how God has held us up, gives life to the Lord!
3. God continually giving me perfect peace, assurance, joy, even in the midst of deep sorrow, in spite of circumstances, including Steven's situation and the prospect of a lawsuit. What a miracle!

10/7/93
1. I'm probably going home from the hospital tomorrow! Progressing well....Learned steps with crutches! Thank you, Lord.
2. Steven progressed to stage 2 of the coma!
3. Steven going to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago - the best in the country!

As the years have gone by, God has caused us to make it more and more a "habit" to "look for the blessings". For example, in the last few years of Steven's life, the originally rejuvinated brain neurons began to die out, causing him to eventually lose all function on his right side (in addition to the function already lost on his left side). Instead of focusing on the increasing disability, Steven named his new "high end" wheelchair "The Blessing" and thanked the Lord numerous times for providing a lift to move him from the bed to "The Blessing".

Would Steven and I have come to this point without the "mercy" from God of the brain injury? Doubtful.

WAS IT WORTH IT?

I'll let Steven answer that, with an article he wrote to other brain injury survivors in More Than Survivors, Vol. 9, No. 2, February 1998 (reprinted with permission).....

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
Can we today look at a verse in the Bible and think about it? Open your Bible to 1Thess. 5 and turn to verse 18. When we turn to this verse, the first idea we see is "be thankful" or "give thanks", depending on your translation. I have walked the same path as you; I have a brain injury. It is simpler for me to be thankful for other things -- but my brain injury --that is hard. But God, who knows everything, knows this is hard. That's why He says, "Always be thankful", no matter what. Does He include a brain injury in that? YES. Why? Because the rest of the verse says that "this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." We may not be able to see "why it happened," but we do know "who walks with us every day." And the Lord, who knows the "why", says, "Be thankful". It is hard, but Romans 6:4b [NLT] says, "Now we also may live new lives." There was a time in my life when I wouldn't have thanked God for the brain injury, but how I have grown in Him since! Now when He says, "Be thankful," I (we all) do! Because we are new!
In Jesus