A Belated Thanksgiving

Most of you know that since the car wreck was on November 22nd I pretty much missed Thanksgiving. My parents joked that if I wanted to spend the holiday with them so badly, I should have just asked instead of forcing them to come be with me in the hospital because of the wreck. Thanksgiving was a blur to me, because I was still on heavy medications and let's be honest... hospitals aren't exactly festive! Little did I know that the Lord would allow me to experience Thanksgiving a little later than expected.

One night about a week ago, before we were home, I woke up in the middle of the night remembering that I still couldn't walk and realizing that my legs were hurting. It's a deep pain since it's bones we're dealing with here, and I just almost started to complain to myself. As I was about to justifiably (in my mind) complain, God reminded me of people all around the world. He then reminded me of how blessed I am that I am receiving the medical care that I have. Think about all we have. I had access to surgery, to a hospital to recover, to medicines, to doctors, to nurses, and to nutrition ( I won't say food just yet, since my mouth is still wired shut!), and so much more. Other places in the world if this happened, people may be crippled for the rest of their life, or a person wouldn't have the necessary care to even live. I was so ashamed of how much I had overlooked in how God has provided for me. As Americans we are too quick to assume that life here is the norm when in fact we live very blessed lives in comparison with the rest of the world. That night the Lord allowed me to have a belated Thanksgiving.

One more thing that I want to clarify is the work of the Holy Spirit in my life right now. I know so many people have applauded my ability to stay positive in the midst of everything. It is so important for me to let you know that it is the Holy Spirit alone working through me that I am at peace with everything. God is so faithful to never give us more than we can handle, and I believe in these severe instances the Holy Spirit carries us through it. I just want to always turn the glory to God because this is His story, and if His name isn't glorified in this, then I have not done what I'm supposed to as a believer in Jesus Christ. This has nothing to do with me. It is my prayer that God continues to use me.

When I left the hospital an ambulance took me to the training center I had been at previously. In the back with me was a woman a few years older than me. As I was talking to her, I was able to encourage her and tell her of God's faithfulness. She said that she really needed to hear that and recently she had really been struggling in her faith. She thanked me, and I told her I'd pray for her. The thought occurred to me the other day that this was a divine appointment. Then the other thought I had was what if all of this struggle was for this one divine appointment? Was encouraging this person worth all that I had been through? My first response was couldn't all of this reproduced something so much larger than just touching one person's life? Then God gently reminded me that this woman is absolutely, 100% worth all that I've been through just so I could remind her of how much her Creator loves her. It humbled me greatly and let me remember how much our Lord loves us. I've since then decided that if she's worth it to my Master, then she's completely worth all of this to me. Now I don't know if encouraging her is the reason for all of this, and I know God can use this for anything he wants, I just needed to make sure my heart was in the right place.

I am blessed beyond words when I hear of people I've never met that are praying for me. It also blesses me to know I have friends around the globe lifting me up. Each one of you have touched my heart in such an intimate way. Know that your prayers keep me encouraged, and your prayers keep me focused on the Lord throughout this all. Please pray for quick healing of my jaw, so that it doesn't have to stay shut! Also pray for my legs to heal in a mighty way. The sooner I'm walking the better :) My heart aches for the gospel to spread among people in Europe, and I want to be there as fast as I can helping with that work.

Let me know any of your prayer request and know how much I love you guys!

Taryn