He was big, bold, proud. King of the hill and he knew it. A 16.5 hand American Saddlebred! He was my trailriding horse, and what a lively ride he was. We had just returned to the farm from a long trail ride and had turned the horses loose to head back to their home pasture. Wandering through the gate from the barnyard, they paused to enjoy some lush grass. I was impatient to get them back into the pasture and began waving my arms and stamping my feet to keep them moving. My horse was grazing in front of me, his head pointed to my left. As I continued to pressure the horses to move, he stamped one of his huge rear hooves in irritation. Then he kicked out behind him in anger. My impatience caused me to be oblivious to both of these rebellious signals as I continued to move forward.
Suddenly, he wheeled away from me and violently kicked out behind him. In an instant, I turned my body to the left. I felt a terrific impact on my right side as I was slammed up against the barn wall. Gasping for breath, I staggered through the barnyard, focused only on getting to the car. My wife and girls were scared to death and asked me what was wrong. By then, the pain was setting in and I could feel my ribs grating against each other like a handful of gravel. “Take me to the hospital”, I gasped. Slumping in the front seat, I turned sideways to take the pressure off my right side. My youngest daughter held my hand and gave me something to focus on as I concentrated on each breath.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12
Later, in the ER, I discovered that I had 4 broken ribs, three of which had been broken twice. I had 3 floating pieces of rib in there! As I lay in the bed, I realized that my quick turn to the left didn’t fit with the oblivion, the lack of attention I had shown while herding the horses. A firm brush, or shove, of angel’s wings moved me enough to save my life. If I had not moved, I would have taken the kick in the face, or more likely, in the center of the chest. My doctor told me that this could have easily stopped my heart!
Saving grace! God intervened my my life to make His power obvious to me and to those around me. He does it, not because He has to, but just because He can. God speaks to us, but rarely through the spoken word. God speaks to us through miracles that happen in our daily lives. Has He performed a miracle in your life? Don’t keep it to yourself. Bragging on God is so fun! Spend your day knowing that He loves you enough to show off His power in your life!
10/19/09 workplace devotional