Tag: #lifeandwheelchairs

Jesus is Real Y’all

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

I love my conversations with Jackson when it is just me and him in the truck. I never know just what we may talk about. Sometimes it is a funny story, others it is just a million questions as kids are subject to do.

Today, he talked to me about his trip to heaven.

I always knew there was more to share than he was ready to talk about the first time he told me he saw Jesus the day of the accident. Today he wanted to talk to me about the details of his trip.

He said that he went up the stairs to heaven. When he got towards the top he started to have a good feeling all over his body, and that is when he saw Jesus. Although he didn’t actually have to talk with his mouth, Jesus told him that he was going to be paralyzed but that he was going to be okay.

He also spoke about how in heaven you could instantly think of things but before you could finish the thought it appeared. Things were instant in heaven, and he knew immediately that being paralyzed meant him being in a wheelchair.

I believe there was more with the experience of “instant thoughts” that make things appear, but he isn’t ready to speak about it, and I don’t push him.  He will share it when he is ready.

He said that coming back to his body was also instant. He was in heaven one minute and he opened his eyes to the paramedics walking with him on the stretcher the next.

We then talked about how blessed he is that God gave him “another life” as he calls it. I am the one blessed, because I get to share my life with this awesome kid!

I am sharing Jackson’s story because I know this is something that God has asked me to do. I pray that his story touches others who need it. If someone was unsure about God and the truth of His word, I pray Jackson’s experience helps them to see just how good God is. If they feel alone, this helps them to know that they are never alone. There is a God who loves them and one day they will be reunited with lost loved ones.

Help me share Jackson’s story by sharing it with others. Tell it to your friends and family. Share it on Facebook and Twitter. Help others know that yes, there is a God and oh man He is GOOD!

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Love and blessings,

C.C.

Field Day

by C.C. Hasty, posted in Blessed, Brothers, Field Day, God Is Good, Uncategorized, Wheelchair

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I will be honest and admit that I was really worried about this day. Jackson, of course, was completely ready and beyond excited about it. We picked out the Powerade’s he wanted to take and his clothes the evening before. In his mind he was going to be able to do everything. It is sometimes hard to imagine how his 7-year-old mind processes things. He has never seen what he can’t do. Only how he CAN do it.

It didn’t take him long to realize just how different this day would be from the two other field days he participated in before. Jackson has always handled his emotions better than even most adults. He processes them slowly and has very little tells to clue you in to what he is thinking. He became quite and put his head in his lap.

As a parent, it is hard to watch. I know what he is feeling. What he is thinking. And I can’t change it. He has been invited to birthday parties that involve physical activity. I hadn’t wanted to face it so we didn’t go.  Jackson runs headlong into everything. I was the one scared. I knew eventually we would have to face this. It was inevitable. And when he whispered to me in his low voice, “I wish I could walk”. All I could say is, “Me too baby.”

The first ribbon someone gave him for just participating, the look on his face broke my heart. I know they were trying to help. They were trying to include him and make him feel special. He saw it for what it was. A ribbon he didn’t earn. I was torn between wanting him to succeed in each event in any way possible, and wanting to push him to earn the ribbon himself. After the egg race he put his head down and whispered to me, “I am a bad boy because I cheated.” Even though he was told to hold the egg while someone pushed his chair, he felt like he cheated by doing so.

Finally, he won a ribbon on his own. Of course, he had to participate in a special way, but this ribbon he DESERVED. Despite the fact that he struggled during each race with what he couldn’t do, he still participated in every single one that he was able. This kid doesn’t let anything stop him. Yes, he struggles sometimes accepting what is. But, he still pushes forward, despite it all.

Although my first reaction when he wanted to go into the bouncy house was to worry about how it could be done and how his body would respond, I quickly replied, “Let’s do it!” He had a blast and the smile on his face was worth my now very sore muscles (they need these things in gyms for adults cause it is a definite workout, let me tell ya).

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I am very thankful that Jackson goes to a school that allows him to try to do everything he can. For a teacher that pushes him. And for an assistant that loves on him when we aren’t there to do so.

And by the time we were on our way home, he was proud of all the awards he had, even those he didn’t earn himself. As he told his brother Joshua with a huge smile on his face, “They gave me all of these ribbons. It’s the good thing about being paralysized.”

Love and blessings,

C.C.

 

Step Out In Faith

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

I had not seen my grandmothers tombstone since it was installed two weeks after the accident (she died a few months before). Nor had I visited my grandfather. There wasn’t time the first several months after the accident. It is also a long drive and something I was afraid to face alone, but God had placed it on my heart in the last week to finally make the time to do it. On Sunday, I knew I could no longer put it off.

I don’t find comfort in visiting gravesite’s, as some do. I remember a conversation my Nannie and I once had about visiting Drew’s gravesite after the tombstone was installed. He was my 18-year-old cousin who tragically died a few years ago in a car accident. She found comfort visiting it, I didn’t. And here I was on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, staring at hers. Faced with the reality of time from that conversation to the present and all that had happened in the last year. Forced to confront the fact that one of my worst fears had come to pass. My Nannie, who was my best friend, was really gone.

I cried for all I was worth. I cried because my heart aches from missing her. I cried for what my boys have been through. I cried for what I have been through. A huge part of me wanted to suck up the tears and run. But I knew that wasn’t why God had led me there. It was finally time to accept that she was really gone. It was time to deal with the emotions of everything my family has been through since the accident. It was finally time to grieve.

As I was leaving after visiting with my grandfather, he told me that he had prayed the previous night for God to give him a good day. I was the answer to his prayer and God’s miracle for him. You see, God knew a week ago that he would need a visit from family to remind him that he isn’t alone and loved. God knew my heart couldn’t carry the weight of hurt I had been carrying around anymore. He knew from the minute he placed it on my heart a week ago.

Sometimes God asks us to do things that we know will ultimately cause us pain. We don’t understand the reason, but He does. If God has asked you to do something, just remember that He doesn’t bring us to it to leave us there in that place of pain and hurt. He will bring you through it, to a place of healing and restoration. You can trust in Him.

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Love and blessings,

C.C.