Celebrating the mercies of God. by Tammy Darling
New home, new beginning, new memories.
When I hung the large canvas picture in my new home five years ago, I couldn’t have been happier. I mean, who doesn’t like second chances? A fresh start, a new chapter, an opportunity in the making. Yes, I was all for the second chance.
That sign no longer hangs in my home. A new canvas sunflower-laden picture has replaced it. The words are different: Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath and start again.
I didn’t realize then how many times I would need to do what that picture said.
Calling on Jesus
One May afternoon while driving home from a women’s Bible study meeting at a friend’s house, I was full of joy and singing along to a worship CD. The sunny weather had turned rainy, so I drove slowly.
Despite the added caution, my van started fishtailing on a sharp turn. When I knew it would get worse before it got better, I cried out, “Jesus, help me!”
From that point on, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Pictures of my husband and four children flashed, one by one, before my eyes. I didn’t want to die! I cried out again, “Jesus!”
Rollover
When the van veered toward a slight drop off, I knew a rollover was imminent. I tucked my head and held tightly to the steering wheel, as my father had taught me to do.
The rollover happened in slow motion as well, with me feeling each impact more than the previous one. With the shattered windshield glass peppering my hair, I tucked my head tighter and kept my eyes squeezed shut.
Finally, the van stopped rolling. Realizing I survived what could have been a deadly crash, I exhaled an overwhelmed “Thank You, Jesus!”
God’s help
The van landed upright, allowing me to get out more easily and quickly in case it caught on fire. I looked around to get my bearings and realized I was in the middle of a cornfield in a remote rural area. No cell service and not a single vehicle had passed by since I crashed.
Dazed, I gathered my things that had been thrown from the vehicle — all dirty but not broken.
When I heard a vehicle approaching, I walked toward the road, hoping someone would stop. Not only did the pickup truck stop, but from it emerged two people I knew. Only God could have done that.
Miraculous survival
In my shocked, adrenaline-fueled state, I didn’t realize I was bleeding profusely from a deep glass cut on my elbow — my only injury. One of my good Samaritans ran for a roll of paper towel from their truck to use on my elbow while another managed a broken call to my husband, using one bar of cell service.
When a police officer arrived on the scene, he said it was a miracle that I walked away from the accident. Upon hearing his words, Romans 10:13, came to mind: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
I know this is typically viewed as a salvation verse, but that day, calling upon the name of the Lord saved my physical life. As the words in the picture in my home said, God granted me a new beginning.
Husband’s health
My husband also experienced a new beginning — two, actually.
When I was pregnant with my first child, his recently diagnosed ulcerative colitis took a turn for the worse. While I attended a Lamaze class alone, he was across the street in the hospital where I would soon be delivering my baby.
Two evenings later, my husband was transferred to Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania. I received a phone call at 2:00 a.m. saying he had been into emergency surgery. Only after the successful surgery did I find out that my husband had been within an hour or two of dying.
Cancer
Twenty-five years later, my husband developed thyroid cancer. The surgery left him with paralysis on the right side of his throat. A radiation pill was the next call of business, since not all the cancer could be reached through surgery. Then came the dreaded wait for scan results to see if the pill eradicated the remaining cancer.
I’ll be honest here. Because my husband’s father died of cancer at the young age of 43, I was terrified when my husband received the cancer diagnosis. I was a certifiable mess. My husband, however, kept reassuring me that he was going to be fine.
Remembering
Daily I had to remind myself of Psalm 105:5: “Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles. . . .” Throughout the Bible we are instructed to remember the deeds of the Lord.
And I needed to, for such a time as this. As I remembered how God had spared my and my husband’s lives once before, my faith for this moment grew.
Nearly one year later, my husband was declared cancer free! Another second chance I am ever so grateful for. As the canvas picture in my home reminded me, I could take a deep breath and start again.
Shifted perspective
Coming so close to death has a way of shifting one’s perspective. I’m not about to forfeit the second chances my husband and I have received. I now embrace life more fully. I’ve become more observant, noticing what I passed by before: flowers, birds, butterflies, and even bugs.
I look people in the eye and offer smiles to those I don’t know. I find beauty in every day, no matter the circumstances. My husband, too, sees life as a gift not to be taken for granted. He’s more grateful and less likely to complain.
I’m less likely to nitpick or hold a grudge now. I’m quick to forgive, slow to anger. Things that used to irritate me no longer do. That is God turning His promised good out of my bad situations.
Precious moments
I’ve learned to reevaluate my priorities regularly and adjust as needed. Every moment matters, and I want each one to count. I echo the psalmist’s words: “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is” (Psalm 39:4). Life is precious, and I don’t ever want to forget that.
Because my days are now filled with so much gratitude, my life has changed for the better. When I wake up each morning, I read that canvas picture with a smile: Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath and start again.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version.
Tammy Darling has published approximately 1,500 articles and three books. She lives in Cassville, PA.