An unexpected curveball

Rough weekend. We were just starting to return to normal weekend activities, except maybe that they would be a little more busy, with a whole line of friend lunch and dinners lined up (catching up for lost time!) when Wessel phoned me. I was doing my weekly shopping. He sounded terrible. His brother had been in a motorcycle accident in Lesotho, where he and a few fellow bike enthusiasts went riding for the weekend. We didn't have much news so we didn't know what to expect. We decided to go down to Bloem to try and offer some support. 

On our way there, the news came through that he would probably be transported to the Medi Clinic in Bethlehem, so we changed course and went straight there. The rest of the family, including his wife and two kids, are in Bloem. We waited a while in Bethlehem to hear whether he was on his way to Bethlehem or if they were flying him down to Bloem. By 5pm they still haven't reached the border of Lesotho, so we went to Clarens (30km outside of Bethlehem) to have dinner. Wow the vibe there is so much nicer than in Bethlehem! 

To make a long story short, he finally arrived in Bethlehem, and they took some x-rays. He must have had such a hectic day, being on the stretcher in the ambulance for 5 hours on the unpaved and potholed roads in Lesotho. He broke his collarbone and about 10 ribs, some in more than one place. So every bump on the road must have been excruciating. He also developed some bleeding around his liver. The good news was that he was stable and that he could talk to us and that generally he came off it quite lightly. It could have been much worse.

Hanging out in the hospital, and especially the ICU felt way too familiar. We needed no introduction to any of the machines. Wessel looked at the X-ray and made a few comments. The nurse looked at him and asked if he is a doctor! Haha. He runs the risk of sounding like a doctor or acting like one wherever he goes.

We tried to update the family as much as possible, and today we also went there early to try and speak to a doctor and see if they can transfer him to Bloem. A million phone calls to try and get him airlifted to Bloem was to no avail. Eventually the ambulance came to pick him up and they left for Bloem just before 3pm. That was when we also came back to Joburg. What a weekend. We are just relieved and thankful that he seems ok under the circumstances and given enough time and good care, he will be back to his old self again. 

I took a book with to read, and interestingly enough the chapter was about living a selfless life. Do you know that Paul and Moses actually cared so much for other people that they were willing to sacrifice their souls (i.e. go to hell!) if only they could see the people's souls be saved? (See Romans 9:3 and Exodus 32:32). I'm pretty sure I'm not there yet. This is an interesting road. We grow as we go.

When something so traumatic happens people respond differently. But for me with the whole Tabitha experience, I wanted to dig deeper to find truth. There’s a temporary sort of consolidation in well-intended, philosophical fairytale consolations, but lasting, meaningful consolidation can only be found through knowing God. And the best way to get to know God is to read His book. When you read His book and you don’t understand it, don’t worry. You have the rest of your life to let Him teach it to you. One of the best ways, I think, God reveals Himself and His Word is through trials. Its often also through trials that we learn to pray.

Why should we pray if God is sovereign and He already knows what He wants to do? Sometimes God’s will is to deliver us from the adversity, sometimes it is the provision of grace to accept the adversity. Either way it is an act of faith, so we always need to pray. And I think its always fine to pray for God’s deliverance, because we always want deliverance. As long as we do it with a humble acceptance that His will will be done. Jesus did the same when He asked God to let this cup be taken from Him (referring to the crucifixion). But He added,”Not my will, but Your will be done”. (Matt 26:39)

I believe then we can always be assured of the best possible outcome. God always knows best! And if the situation turns out to be one of those, like mine, where you have to accept the adversity, God will provide enough grace that you will be able to handle it. Don't go to Jesus for good advice on how to fix your life. Instead receive the good news that Jesus is faithful!

I pray that God will also be glorified through Gerhard's situation, even though it is unfortunate and not pleasant to go through for him or the rest of the family. But I believe that God delivered him from a potentially life threatening situation! We are so thankful. Please pray for a speedy recovery and no further complications. And off course, that God will provide his beautiful family with the necessary strength and peace to deal with this situation, one day at a time.