Oh God, Forgive Me When I Whine…

Annie’s dark eyes snapped as she shared her story- she doesn’t hesitate to revisit the hay field that fateful day. For the moment, she’s 13 again, mowing first cutting of hay with a horse and a sickle bar mower. It’s getting close to lunch. She can see her 12 year old brother mowing on the opposite side of the field. And because 3 things happen in a row (she doesn’t elaborate) She is thrown from the seat and before she knows what happens, her left arm is cut off by the mower. She gets up and runs across the field to her brother, who’s love for learning had prepared him for this event by learning the proper application of a tourniquet. He applies this quickly and she sprints back across the field to stop a car coming down the road. A neighbor man quickly assesses the situation took her to the country doctor down the road. By this point she is SOOOO thirsty, so she asks the nurse for a drink. The nurse says something about surgery and she can’t drink before that, and denies her request for water. Annie feels faint and says “I think I’m going to pass out”. The nurse calmly says “Ok, pass out” And Annie thinks “Well if that’s all the more you care, I’m going out to Route 30 to stop another car and see if they can take me somewhere where someone cares.” She laughs. She dries dishes, her hook hand casually holding the glass while the other one branishes the tea towel. She proclaims God’s goodness and goes on with how He has provided for her time and again. I stare down into the dish water and I can’t help but worship with her as she remembers.

Emma sits down a few chairs down from mine, and because I have time to kill, I strike up a conversation. It isn’t long until she mentions that her son was injured in a logging accident a number of years ago. His spinal cord was severed and he is paralyzed from the waist down. Her husband died at 47 with health issues. And so she has a lot on her plate. She does have one other son at home. He is such a blessing. He is autistic, but he does a fantastic job lifting his paralyzed brother. He is such good help. What would she do without him? Again I take note as she pulls out a walker I hadn’t noticed earlier, and moves through the crowd. God provides for her and her family.

Mose was excavating, his dozer rolled and he jumped off. But he stumbled and the dozer rolled on top of him, smashing his leg, kept rolling and set back up on its tracks again. He sure is thankful that he only lost a leg!

John was sitting at the dining room table, when a rifle discharged, and took his arm. Erv made a mistake as a 14 year old and got wrapped up in the beaters of a silage wagon. He lost one leg and almost two. He rides bike past us and smiles. Mary lost her foot when a forklift ran over it in the pallet factory where she worked. Noah lost an arm in a sawmill. Becky is wheelchair bound with MS, but that didn’t stop her from zipping through the crowd and delivering a complete sales-pitch when I stopped by the booth that was selling her paintings. Liz is traveling with about 8 friends. They create a bit of a stir. They all check in at less then 3.5 feet tall… Kate is blind and her travel companion Viola was born with club feet…

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

My travels last weekend took me to the “Handicapped Gathering” in Shipshewana, Indiana. I met so many wonderful people and learned so SOO much. (e.g Did you know that if you lose an arm or a leg- its a very big deal to bury it “like it’s sleeping” Most everybody who dealt with an amputation told me all about burying it. This is to help with Phantom Pain…)

I was just blessed over and over by the testimonies of the people who shared with me. God’s faithfulness was proclaimed time and again. And I’ll have to admit- I did some pretty deep Kendra Inspection. This poem kept running through my head and it sums up my weekend perfectly…

Today, upon a bus, I saw a girl with golden hair. I envied her, she seemed so gay, and wished I was as fair. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobbled down the aisle. She had one leg and wore a crutch. And as she passed… a smile. Oh God, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 legs, the world is mine I stopped to buy some candy. The lad who sold it had such charm. I talked with him, he seemed so glad. If I were late, it’d do no harm. And as I left, he said to me, “I thank you, you’ve been so kind. It’s nice to talk with folks like you. You see,” he said, “I’m blind.” Oh God, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 eyes, the world is mine. Later while walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue. He stood and watched the others play. He did not know what to do. I stopped a moment and then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?” He looked ahead without a word. And then I knew, he couldn’t hear. Oh God, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 ears, the world is mine. With feet to take me where I’d go. With eyes to see the sunset’s glow. With ears to hear what I’d know. Oh God, forgive me when I whine. I’ve been blessed indeed, the world is mine…….

Blessed indeed. May I be inspired to proclaim His Faithfulness in my life!

Kendra

Bonus Pics:

This rainbow shone over the Valley a week ago.

Shipshewana has the best Kettle Corn I’ve ever been acquainted with. I always buy their huge bag and share it with my traveling companions (always- as in- both times I was killing time in the area. 🙂 )