Journal Entry 6/14 From Kristi
November 20, 2020, was a beautiful, sunny day. Zachary was off work and left the house to go surfing. An hour later, I was homeschooling Everest when Rich rushed into the classroom.
“There’s been an accident at the beach, Kristi. It’s Zachary.”
My heart leaped into my chest; I threw on the closest shoes I could find and ran out the door of my home. That was 206 days ago. And I haven’t been home since.
Rich and I rushed to the beach with our other kids right behind us. When we arrived, we immediately spotted a crowd and an ambulance surrounding someone. That someone was my Boy. I pushed past everyone to see Zachary laying on a stretcher, unable to move, his wet suit cut from his body lying in a heap on the ground. I don’t remember the words that rushed out of my mouth; I attempted to comfort him, but my eyes locked onto his, somehow I knew he was gonna be okay.
I hopped in the ambulance with him as we drove 30 min south to the nearest trauma center. An hour later we both boarded a life-flight plane and flew to Mercy Medical Center. He was rushed into surgery that night and, when he woke up two days later, his nurse looked at him, explaining his injury, and said, “do you understand what this means? You will never walk again.” My heart broke and I screamed inside, “God, YOU have the final Word in Zac’s life!!”
Thanksgiving came and went. 26 days at Mercy passed. Then Zac and I were placed on a Leer Jet and sent to Craig Hospital Rehabilitation Center in Denver, Colorado.
And we have remained here for exactly 180 days. Today, it’s time to U-turn home.
Home. A memory from long ago and a lifetime if feels we have lived since being there.
Home.
Back to the piano which Zac used to practice for hours.
Back to the running shoes, he used to wear.
Back to his bass guitar, he used to play.
Back to his surfboard that started it all…
Yet as I was praying for Zachary before bed last night, these words came tumbling out:
“You are going home, not less, but more of a man than when you left - all due to the work you have allowed God to do in you. You have been His workmanship, you have allowed God to write this story in your life, you have not been afraid, you have given thanks in ALL things, you have allowed the joy of the Lord to be your strength, you have continued to inspire us all…”.
Would it be strange to say that I will miss this season of pain? I will miss how raw and broken my heart has been here, and I will miss how desperate I have been for God to speak His truth to me. Yet perhaps He has simply taught us to worship Him in a deeper way. So we return, broken but healed; fragile but strong; weeping but joyful. I am overwhelmed. Again. God is so good.
And if I may, for the very first time,
acknowledge YOU who have been reading these journal entries…. weeping with us, cheering us on, praying for us. We have read every comment, received every prayer, sustained with every encouragement.
Thank you.
Know that this has been a journey for ALL of us. Because God never changes. For this is YOUR story too. And as He has been working in Zac’s life, He has been working in yours, even if you didn’t know it.
Paralysis causes us to be desperate for God.
Uncertainty presses us into a deeper faith.
Silence teaches us that God is STILL working, even when we can’t see it.
Trials are miserable, but they can be glorious if we catch a bigger picture of who God is. Time is so short and Jesus is coming soon. May we ALL be empty vessels for HIS glory. Whatever your circumstance, “God is good and He does only good.” Do not fear. This is our journey together and we shall continue to WALK in the sure Word of God.
Home today. See you on the other side, our precious brothers and sisters in Christ
Phil 3:8
“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ.”
