Say a Prayer. . .

As I mentioned this post, there has been a lot going on in our personal lives lately.  God brought us into a situation that we weren't expecting and it has changed the way we look at everything.  It changes the way we say good-bye to those we love, and it changes the way we feel when we hear ambulance sirens going down the street.  Our priorities are changing, our focus is changing.

And this is why:

On Saturday September 18^th, while traveling to a University of Michigan football game, Travis Hanges lost control of his vehicle and flew off the side of the highway rolling several times down into the median.  Five of the six people in the car were thrown from the vehicle, as far as 30 yards apart. 

Mike and I were just rounding the curve when we saw Kyle Hanges frantically waving, looking for his family amidst the trees and tall grass.  It was a frightening scene with severe injuries, but we praised God for the miracle that everybody was still alive.  It was thirty minutes before emergency vehicles arrived, so until then we tried to help keep the passengers warm and comforted as much as possible.  

Kyle Hanges, who was unhurt, was in a state of shock and despair as he watched his wife and brothers fighting for life.  We prayed with Kyle and asked that God would spare their lives and sustain them all until help arrived. 

Mike and I saw things that day that we will never forget.  We can still hear the whir of the blades and the wind blowing in our faces from the two medevac helicopters that landed in the middle of I-94.  After sixty minutes on the crash site, we experienced a deep emotional connection to these people that is difficult to explain, but probably not uncommon in situations of trauma or tragedy.  We have spent many hours at the hospital with the families of the victims, and during that time a deep love has grown in our hearts for them as we’ve cried with parents and prayed around bedsides. 

The six people who were involved in the accident are Kyle Hanges, his wife Megan, his brothers Travis and Jordan, and their girlfriends, Lindsey Meadows and Amanda Stennett.

Kyle was unhurt and Amanda was released from the hospital the following day after sustaining only minor injuries. 

Travis has currently had three surgeries to repair his shattered pelvis, femurs, and back.  After he heals from his surgeries and broken ribs, he will spend several months in the hospital rehab working to gain back his mobility.

Lindsey is recovering from surgery on her broken neck and pelvis and has now transferred to a rehabilitation clinic where she will be for the next several months.

Jordan is home and in rehab to help him strengthen his walk after sustaining injuries to his pelvis and ribs.

Megan suffered an unknown amount of head trauma, and is currently unable to feel her legs or feet, and has been fighting off various infections.  After days of not even opening her eyes, she is now able to sit up in bed with assistance and is starting to communicate with sign language and writing short notes.   Her husband Kyle rarely leaves her side. 

It is a miracle they are all alive and every small step that is made toward recovery is a giant leap for them.  Family members are at the hospital around the clock to support and comfort them the best they possibly can.

The main reason I'm posting this is to have as many people as possible continuing to pray for these dear people as they face the long road ahead.   Our constant prayer is that God's peace would continue to surround them and that his strength would continue to uphold them, during what has been the hardest days of their lives.

P.S. -

We're doing a fundraiser, and if you're interested in details you can email me at: hangesfund@gmail.com

Please Pray!

There has been a lot going on in our lives the past several days, and although I tend to shy away from posting about anything extremely personal, I am breaking that rule today. 

Here is a link to a news article about an accident. 

Please read it and then please PRAY for these people. 

They are in the hospital and it's going to be a long road to recovery.

But we are PRAISING GOD that He saw fit to spare their lives in this accident. 

That alone is a miracle.

A lyric line from a Chris Rice song keeps playing through my head . . .

Every day is a gift you've been given

Make the most of the time every minute you're living. . .

Maybe this be a reminder to all of us.



In Every Moment

Today my dearly beloved husband met me at Starbucks for our first taste of Fall by enjoying their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Ahh, seasonal bliss. Tantalizing to the taste buds and invigorating as it warms your hands and your insides.  Oh course I also had to enjoy a Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffin while I was there, seeing as those are also only around this time of year and are usually gobbled up by early-morning-coffee-goers who can’t fathom a day beginning without their high dose of sugar and jolt of caffeine.

We sat outside, the low 70-something breeze blowing around us, the sky overcast, trying to ignore the spits of rain we felt. It was lovely just being together, even if it did feel like Seattle. Having a break in the middle of a work day simply to sit at a café and be together was wonderful, relaxing, and a breath of fresh air. Just being together is the best. The A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E. B.E.S.T.

It’s the small moments that sometimes bring the most joy. I sat there and silently thanked God for the blessing of those small moments and the amazing husband that I get to share them with.  The everyday life is ten-times better because we're together.  What a gift.

I returned to work, and had an email waiting for me. A friend of mine was just diagnosed with breast cancer; her surgery is this afternoon. It was so fast, so unexpected….”Not her, Lord!” were the first words I wanted to utter. But my God is not only a God of small moments, He is the God of big moments too. It hurt to read the words on that page, but I was reminded that God was greater than all this.

Where are words in the midst of pain? How to you reply to an email like that, or even find the right words to pray for them? But God knows.

I crept away to an empty room to pray. Prayed for the surgeon, prayed for my friend, and prayed for her husband. These people don’t profess an active faith in the Lord, so maybe God will use this to draw them to Himself. I am praying that He will. I am praying He will guide the hands of the surgeon and grant them knowledge in how to best deal with this situation, and that He will grant strength to this couple. This couple who loves each other more deeply than most, and that would never leave each other no matter what. I prayed that they would come to know the Great Physician and the true Healer, and that though this He would be glorified…and that she would be healed.

God is there, in the sunshine and the shadow, in the quiet blissful moments, and the moments of pain and tears. How I praise Him for His faithfulness and the hand that guides me and He who walks beside me each step of the way.

Running through yesterday into tomorrow
Don’t let it just drift away
Forget about tying the hands of time
Give every minute to the One who gave us today
-- Joy Williams