December 13, 2011

Life is short and precious.  Most of us, as our days go along often forget that in the blink of an eye it can be over.  Or our lives can be changed quickly into something totally different then what we are used to.  This has happened to someone I am acquainted with.  I work part-time for the local swine veterinarian here in town.  In the years I've worked there, I have gotten to know many of our clients.  One of our clients lives in Iowa.  A few years ago, the girls in the office we took a road trip to Illinois.  We visited one of our distributors there, then we went the next day and visited this client in Iowa.  We had lunch, got to meet his lovely wife and just had a wonderful visit.  A true Christian man and family.  He is about 53 with 8 children, 7 boys and one girl, and several grandchildren.

Last Friday, this man was struck down by a severe stroke.  He is fighting for his life in a hospital in Iowa City.   It is a day-to-day thing, with the next couple of days being the most critical for him.  If he survives, he will not be the same person physically that he was before.  He is paralysed on the left side and right now cannot speak.  He is a long road of recovery ahead of him.  

I'm sure on Thursday he had no inclination that on the next day his life was going to change forever.  His family has a strong Christian faith and an even stronger Christian family within his church.  One thing he will not be is alone in his struggle to recover.

While things like this happen everyday in some form or another...whether it be a stroke, heart attack, car accident, etc....it really makes you step back and realize how precious life is.  This man is only a bit older then I am.  

A similar thing happened to my husband in 2002 when he was involved in a serious boating accident on Lake Michigan.  Chris lost the sight in one of his eyes and had to experience two surgeries to repair his forehead.  While he has made a full recovery, and has learned to adapt to only having one eye...it's one of those experiences that changes your life forever.  I have seen since this accident he is a bit different.  Some ways are good, some ways are bad.  It's kind of hard to explain.

One very important thing in all of this....a trust and faith in God.  I did not have that as strongly in 2002 as I have now.  Perhaps we both would have come through his accident a bit different had we been closer to the Lord then.  

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this blog post.  Just remember, life can change fast...keep a strong trust in the Lord to help get you through.