“It was on the second of January and we wanted to go back and return our printer.” That’s how this story starts: in a new year, on slick roads. Carolyn was driving with her husband after a new year had started. To her, it probably seemed as though they were just doing a task, but an accident was about to happen.
“We were heading to Salt Lake. We were in the middle of nowhere. I was told that a bicycle came and swung into my lane of traffic and I swerved to get out of his way. I swerved into traffic and then I swerved to get back in my lane. I lost control of the car and it rolled three times,” said Carolyn about that night.
Fortunately, Carolyn survived. But she was never the same again. She was now paralyzed except for her right arm. Now, she needs help every day from her friends, her family, and especially her husband.
But she isn’t angry or upset. She is grateful.
“When I had my car accident, the first thing I was grateful for was that he {her husband} was okay and that he could give me a blessing. The next thing I was grateful for was that the ambulance came immediately and took me to a good hospital. I had some really good doctors that took care of me. I was grateful for all the people who prayed for me.”
“It was right after Christmas, so the first part of the new year, and we had good people who came in and took care of my girls. Everyone stepped in and helped out.”
This is why Carolyn will always see this experience as a good one. It’s because everyone was there for her and she was able to find peace.
“And the thing I remember most is that after months would go by, the adults would forget to pray for me but the children never forget. Children never forget, and that’s why I love children. Because they don’t forget.”
Carolyn doesn’t see this moment in her life as a bad memory. It’s not sad to her.
“It wasn’t a bad experience. It was hard. It gets harder every year. But there is nothing [more] that has brought me to Christ. I learned that he does bear our sicknesses and our weaknesses and our infirmities. “
“It gives you empathy for what people are going through and it’s not easy to be empathetic, like he [her husband] did when he found me in this ditch and he said, ‘Come on, get up. Help me find my glasses.'”
“I said, ‘I can’t, I’m dying.’ And he realized that I really was. I couldn’t get up and help him.” Carolyn laughed.
This may have been a hard experience for her, but there are also many life lessons she learned.
“There is always someone worse off or you don’t know what [they are] going through. You can’t compare people. I think we are all given our challenges as an opportunity to come to Christ. You can choose not to and you reap the reward of that. This life is not perfect. It’s never going to be perfect but it’s a time to learn. That where it comes down to gratitude.”
Carolyn, to me, is someone who will always have endless amounts of gratitude. She’ll have it for her husband, for the nature around her, and for the people who have taken the time to pray and help her in any way possible.
At the end of the interview, Carolyn said, “How do you define gratitude? It’s thinking of others and what the Lord has done for us and placing us in a certain place.”
Thanks so much for reading! I really wish you could have heard this whole conversation because Carolyn is such an amazing person and I know my writing does not do her justice. Comment down below someone that you are grateful for and why. Read other posts for gratitude this month and I will see you next week!
