Category: Uncategorized

Anniversaries 

by C.C. Hasty, posted in Uncategorized

When anniversaries are coming up, we tend to think about that moment in our lives that define that anniversary. If it’s a wedding anniversary, we think about the day of our wedding and the memories made. On birthdays of our children, we remember our labor and delivery. The first moment we held our child and heard their cry. When anniversaries of the death of a loved one draws near, we think about the day we lost someone that we dearly loved. Anniversaries are place markers in our lives that have significant meaning. Sometimes these dates changed the course of our lives forever. 

With the anniversary of the accident fast approaching, I have spent a lot of time in thought. I have contemplated every decision that lead up to that horrific day. A day that will forever be considered the worst day in my life. My life was forever changed. Our children’s lives were forever changed. It was literally my worst nightmare, only one that I couldn’t wake up from. I had to live it. I had to face it. I was mom, and failing wasn’t an option. I had 5 children who needed me. I remember thinking, “I have to do this. I have to be strong for them.” And on the tail of that thought, “God, please give me the strength to do this.” 

The last week has been extremely hard for me. The memories sometimes take me back to that phone call. Being on the side of that road, hearing my children scream. The helplessness that I felt. Seeing them in pain, and not being able to take it away. Those first days in the hospital when we didn’t know if Alex or Jackson would live. The moment when the doctor told us that Jackson would never walk again. 

But there are also good memories. The strength of family. The outpouring of love from strangers who supported us every step of the way. The miracles, time after time, that God bestowed on our babies. The opportunity for us to grow as individuals and lessons learned, like humility and faith. 

This anniversary will always define the day our lives changed. It will be, according to doctors, the last day that Jackson will ever walk again. There will always be sadness and “what ifs”. Yet, God reminded me that in this too I have a choice. I can choose to dwell on the heartache. I can choose to remember as a mother the overwhelming fear that I had. Or I can choose to remember the good. I can remember the love and support we were shown. The moments when God showed up and showed out. Our front row seats as He showed us what faith and prayer can do. I can be thankful that all of our boys are here. And I can cherish every single moment I have been allowed to share with them. Each smile. Each laugh. The chance to be there for every single accomplishment they have achieved on their journey, because these boys of mine are strong and they are fighters. 

So as the anniversary draws near, I will remember the good and to be thankful for what God has done. 



Love & blessings, 

C.C. 

Be that Person 

by C.C. Hasty, posted in Blessed, God Is Good, Heaven, Prayer, Uncategorized, Wheelchair

When I was a little girl, a woman came by our apartment in the projects of downtown Nashville to invite me to church. She told me about all of the fun things the youth did at church and promised to come get me on the bus every Sunday. And she did. Her name was Lana Banana (although I am sure that wasn’t her real name). I loved going to church where I learned about Jesus and His love for me. It was something to look forward to every week, and she gave me candy every time I walked onto that bus. 

A couple of years later, the owner at a furniture store that we broke down in front of told me about Jesus and I told him I went to church on Sunday’s. He gave me a stuffed doll that I cherished and invited me to visit his church. I told him I would, but I was maybe 8 years old and didn’t have a way to get there. It was the first promise I ever remember breaking. It hurt to break that promise and I learned going forward to never again promise something that I couldn’t do.  He told me I was special and was going to do great things in life. No one had ever told me this, and I believed him. 

A few years later we moved from Nashville to Shelbyville. My great uncle Chuck came to visit and invited me to church with him. He picked me up every single Sunday. He paid for me to go to church camp when I was 13 years old, where I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. 

Why did I share this? Because it was those people who helped lead me to salvation. Not 1 person. Not 1 experience. But several. Lana Banana, the driver of that church bus who came to the roughest projects in Nashville didn’t know that I was ultimately saved. The owner of that furniture store couldn’t have realized how special that doll was to me or the words of life he spoke into me. My uncle Chuck couldn’t realize that by sowing the money to send me to church camp it would ultimately lead me to the cross and salvation.   

I’m not sure if I have ever been instrumental in someone’s journey to become saved. I hope that I have been. And I hope that all who read this are reminded that every time you share Jesus with someone, speak words of life and encouragement into someone, or sow financially into ministry, you too may have been one of the people God used to help someone eventually reach salvation, without even knowing it. 

Love & blessings, 

C.C. 

All Lives Matter

by C.C. Hasty, posted in All Lives Matter, Blessed, Discrimination, Dreams, God Is Good, Prayer, Racism, Uncategorized, Wheelchair

I don’t usually write poems, and I have definitely never shared one that I have written. But I felt I needed to share this one. So don’t judge too hardly 😉

This morning my heart hurts, and I feel weighed down by all of the hate that I see. I wrote this poem to try to make sense of all of the grief I was feeling. Of course I have opinions, we all do. I just don’t think voicing them would make a difference right now. I think what the world really needs is a little silence. Some time to process.

So here it is (yes I am very nervous about this but stepping out in faith here):

Hate breeds hate

Fear begets fear

Lives matter

Son, daughter, father

 

Our hearts ache for what is

What is going to be

Begging for our lives

We shouldn’t have to plea

 

It is just the beginning

Hate always breeds

It will get worse

An unknown future is all we see

 

There is sin in the world

History has taught us this

It is devious

But somehow we dismiss

 

The bible has the answer

Love never fails

And only with God

Can we prevail

 

Conspiracy theories

And planned murders

I fear for my children

I am only a mother

 

Violence has always been

And will always be

 Prayer is the answer

From you and from me

 

Let’s not place blame

And judge what we don’t know

Don’t let the media

Entrap our soul

 

Each story has two sides

The truth in the middle

As children we are taught this

Let’s try to remember

 

You don’t know everything

Neither do I

We must be open to learn

Because opinions do lie

 

Black, white, brown,

Color shouldn’t be the factor

Civilian, officer, political,

All lives matter

 

Two wrongs don’t make a right

It only leads to blindness

What the world really needs

Is just a little kindness

 

~ C.C. Andrews