In His Hands

I was looking over the mail when I heard a musical note emit from the cell phone. Oh, it probably needs to be charged, I thought, then when I opened it I saw instead that I had a new message. “We are taking Reid to the ER,” it said, “He was in a wreck on an ATV.” Dear Lord! It was a message from our daughter, Amy, in Georgia. I immediately got her on the phone, and in a strained voice she told me that our 16-year-old grandson had been thrown off 4-wheeled utility vehicle, and that they were on the way to the hospital. He had head injuries and other, hopefully more minor, injuries. I was wild for details, but there wasn’t much she could tell me until he had been examined at the hospital.

I called Amy’s brothers and sister, sharing and asking them to pray. Then I called our pastor for prayer. Howard and I had already prayed and were still praying. Then I remembered face book. I typed out a message describing what had happened and posted it to all my friends. Next time I checked, many messages assured me that prayers were going up. We spent an anxious afternoon, getting news that Reid had a four-inch gash in his head that had to be closed with staples, that he was in a lot of pain in his neck and arm, and that they would have to do CT scans to check for further injuries.

It would be 5 or 6 hours before we heard that scans of his brain, facial bones, arm and head came back normal. Hallelujah! We were overjoyed. They were able to take him home that night. God is so good.

I tried to call Amy’s and Shannon’s house this morning before church, but getting no answer, I figured they were probably getting some much needed sleep after their ordeal. We had further prayer at church for Reid, and I called to check on him as soon as we got home. Good news awaited us, that, although he was still on pain medications, he had slept well and was up and around, despite swelling and soreness. More details of the accident had become known. Instead of hitting his head on a rock, as we had feared, it was determined that his cut had been caused by a metal seat belt slot cover or clasp as he was thrown forcefully against it. Hair, blood and scalp tissue were found on the metal device. Thank God he hadn’t been slammed into a rock, which was probably the reason he was spared. He obviously struck his jaw and arm on impact, judging from swelling and abrasions. It could have been so much worse.

“Mama, did I tell you about my prayers for Reid that morning?” Amy asked me as I talked to her. She hadn’t mentioned them, but she went on, “I took Reid to swim team practice at 6:30 Saturday morning, and when I let him off I felt a real burden of prayer, as well as an overwhelming feeling of loss.” She said she sat in the car in the morning darkness praying for Reid for probably 10 minutes or more, crying and pouring out unknown fears for his safety, protection and future. “Finally,” she said, “I turned it over to God, and I felt a great peace. And I heard the Lord say, ‘Whatever happens, I will use it for my glory.’ And He said Reid would be all right.”

“I didn’t know what it meant,” she went on, “but I felt comforted and we went on with our day. After we picked Reid up and were eating lunch, he asked to go to his friend’s house, then Shannon and I went shopping. We had redecorated Reid’s bedroom last week, and were picking up some accessories in a store when we got the call. I remembered my prayers and felt sure he would be okay.” And he was. And Amy knew they could trust his future to the Lord, too.