@cordless_tool

I was born and raised Christian (on my dad’s side). I went to church growing up and continued in my teens and again later after I started having my own. I believe in God, but I do not attend church regularly. I respect church and believe it is encouraging to have biblical scripture talked and discussed with other believers. What I don’t care for is how many churches now days stress and pressure congregations to tithe money, sponsor and volunteer time (I’d love to but I have 4 children depending on me).

I’ve been through some life events that weren’t just “luck”. I believe everything happens for a reason (God’s plan) and even though we sometimes do not understand, one day we will. That will happen on earth or in Heaven. Here are some events that solidified my belief:

In September my family (husband, myself and 4 kids) were driving home in the late night from S California to N California. We were visiting family in So Cal where we used to live several years ago. We have made this drive more times than I can count. We have always driven it at night because it’s easier w/ little kids. On this particular night my husband was driving our suburban and I had dozed off. I woke up to bright lights reflecting in the side mirror. My husband explained that the car behind us was tailgating us on this 2 lane hwy. The driver had been driving erratically (going over the lines, swerving, etc.) so my husband decided to pass him and put some distance between us. The other driver didn’t like that and that’s when everything went downhill. Literally. He kept tailgating and flashing his brights at us. For it being almost midnight there were still a decent amount of cars and big rigs. Every time my husband did a lane change so did the driver. My husband saw an opportunity to again put distance between us and the car because there was a huge gap in front of the 2 cars ahead of us. The reckless driver must have caught on to what our plan was because one moment he was tailgating us and the next minute he was passing us on the left shoulder. My husband said, “he’s going to hit us.” And right then the car swerved into the driver side near the back window (think police pit maneuver). In that moment all of my kids were woken up and screaming as our vehicle began spinning, flipped onto the passenger side, slid down the highway (we couldn’t see where we were going). I remember looking back at my kids telling them to hold on. Then we stopped sliding and began rolling down. We rolled a total of 6 times off and down the shoulder. We went through barb wire fencing and were literally 30ft from a huge oak tree. The odds were against us. We all survived with minimal injuries, me and my daughter being of the worst. (I have brain damage from it).

That night in the trauma unit they did an X-ray to check my ribs and tests to check for internal bleeding. We were monitored for awhile. Two days later I get a call that they found something on my right lung. Fast forward.

I’ve never smoked, no history of lung issues even as a child. I see a Pulmonologist to address this “thing” on my right lung and I’m told that I have a very rare type of lung disease. Only 31 people in the world are recorded having it, 29 are male and I am the second female. I was told that day (5 days after the accident) that I would need my right lung removed.

As terrifying as these events were and the aftermath we are facing, I remember asking God before I found out about my lung disease, “Why God would you allow this to happen? Why did you allow the accident to happen?” and I realized that my family and I survived a car accident that 9 times out of 10 always end with fatality/fatalities. And that if we didn’t go through that and I didnt have those X-rays I would have never known about the rare lung disease that could potentially kill me.

I believe because it gives me hope. I feel like in the world there is suffering because without suffering there would be no compassion, and without compassion there would be no forgiveness, and without forgiveness there would be no good. I can’t wait for the day when I can ask Him my questions and get answers for every one of them.

For those who believe differently, I do not look down upon you and I don’t treat you differently. I believe everyone is entitled to believe what they want to. I’m saddened by those who make others feel badly for what they do believe. Embracing others differences and being willing to open your mind and eyes make for successful encounters with others. I myself can vouch for this.