Best Worst Thing

While reading through my morning devotional, which happened to be titled "best worst thing" a question nudged me. What was my best worst thing?

I have many. But this morning I was carried back to a June day in 1991. My daughter and I were headed up a road that winds along a local tributary called Little River. We were singing along to the radio and enjoying the rush of summer air coming in through our opened windows. I needed to deliver a meal to a home bound couple on the river. We were about six miles up when a fully loaded log truck with a second trailer approached us from the opposite direction.

I noticed that as it came around the corner its outside tires were lifted up off the pavement. It was going to tip over!

And it did. 

The truck spilled giant logs onto the roadway and down the bank in front of us, then the trailer barreled at us. My mind searched for a way to survive, but no idea seemed to be enough. Certain my daughter and I were facing our last moments on this planet, I slammed on my brakes, hoping to diminish the impact and steered as close to the edge of the highway as I dared. And then ... amid the screaming sounds of screeching breaks, shattering glass and grinding metal the truck trailer slammed into our van.

That was a worst moment, worst day,  and what followed were the worst months of my life.

My daughter Kristi and I survived that terrible accident. Kristi was physically uninjured but she still carries emotional scars. Me ... well I'm thankful for my life. I had a number of injuries, some that never healed. 

My life changed dramatically. I couldn't return to work. Couldn't clean my house. Couldn't cook meals. Couldn't buy groceries. And a lot more couldn'ts. In the early weeks, I thought I would recover, but I never fully did. When doctors told me I would have to accept my painful condition and go on with life I was pretty devastated.

But that's just the worse part of the story. There are a lot of those kind of stories in the Bible. Something terrible happens to one of God's people and it looks like the worst thing ever, but God steps in and uses it as a best thing.

Because of my injuries I couldn't return to work and I slid into a deep depression. The darkness drove me to search for the Light. I needed God so badly and knew He was my only salvation. I prayed that He would reveal His plans to me.

Before the accident I'd played at writing. It was a fun little hobby. But God wanted it to be more than just a pleasant pass time. He stirred my heart into a fervent desire to create with the written word. With courage given by God and with guidance from other authors I stepped into the writing world with a first book, The Journey of Eleven Moons. 

It was part of my best thing. Incredibly it became a best selling book. God is so good. 

He opened doors and I kept moving forward. I've never had a big footprint in the writing world, but I've had a grand time creating stories - twenty three so far. It hasn't been easy but the rewards have been huge.

I've worked hard, trusting God, and he has blessed me. I hear from people nearly every day who have been encouraged or uplifted by reading something I've written. It's gratifying to know that my small footprint is having a big impact in some people's lives. 

When I look back and remember that what I originally thought was my worst thing was actually a best thing. It was and is all because of God. He helps me along my way every day.

What about you? Do you have a worst thing? Believe God is in the midst of that and it can be your best thing.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie