The power of WORDS

Last Tuesday afternoon I was getting ready to prepare dinner and David's phone rang.  It was one of those phone calls that caused me to stop in my tracks and try to figure out who he was talking to and what was happening.  I pray you've never had one of those, but I know many of you can relate!  It was our oldest son, who was working in California, and had just gotten a phone call from a friend who works with our middle son.  There had been a terrible accident and Nathan had been injured at his job site. Those WORDS stopped us in our tracks and life stood still for a moment as we tried to figure out what direction to go.  I immediately got online to see if we could fly to his location that was a 5 hour drive away.  We would have to wait too long for the next flight so we determined we could drive much quicker. As we threw things into a suitcase,  I called a friend to see if she could keep Lia.  Fortunately, Tia was already at church camp. She wasn't home, so I called another friend.  Little did I know at the time how God had orchestrated that phone call.  When she got to the house within about 10 minutes she reminded us that her husband has an airplane and he volunteered to fly us to the hospital.  Those WORDS brought a comfort to this momma's heart that I can never explain!

Once we arrived at the hospital we heard the WORDS from Nathan's doctor that let us know he would ultimately be ok;  he had many facial injuries, but the CT scan did not reveal any neck or brain damage.  Tears began to flow as I realized the power of those WORDS! Soon after, he went into surgery to repair the injuries to his face and stitch them up.  The true repairs will happen next week. We will covet your prayers through during that time.

After spending 3 days in the hospital we wanted to go to a hospital closer to home for his repair but were having a hard time getting a hospital to accept his case.  It had to be a hospital that accepted a trauma case AND worker's compensation since it was a work related injury.  That was not as easy as we originally thought it would be. He was turned down by multiple hospitals.  I took a break to get some fresh air and as I was returning I saw his doctor in the hall.  He gave me the WORDS I thought we wouldn't hear.  He said, "I found a hospital to accept his case and he can go home!" REALLY did I just hear those WORDS?

So yesterday, we packed up and headed home.  Monday he will go to the new doctor closer to home and plan the next surgery to heal all of the crushed bones in his face. 

During this last week I have had multiple WORDS expressed to me-face to face, through emails, calls or texts.  Everyone of those precious WORDS helped get us through this last week and even if I did not personally respond know that you played a huge part in encouraging us along this journey.

The little saying about sticks and stones as a child is completely untrue.  Our  WORDS can destroy or heal.  I pray that my words can be those that build another person up and not tear them down.

The words of the reckless pierce like swords

    but the tongue of the wise brings healing. 

Proverbs 12:18

This is Nathan and his wife, Lexe. 

The swelling in his face had gone down so much by this picture!

I am ready to see this face again!