FOODFORTHOUGHT: THE CALL

Monday, March 06, 2006

THE CALL

F O O D F O R T H O U G H T

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THE CALL
By Diane Ray

The call came in yesterday at approximately 4 PM. Our 5 and 7-

year-old grandchildren were at home with me. It was my

husband's voice on the other end of the phone who through very

labored breathing sounded as if he were having a heart attack.

All he said was "Put those grandbabies in the car and get over

here fast!"

I kept asking him if he was okay but his only response was

"Hurry! Please! I'm at our daughter's house!" I turned to our

grandchildren and told them that their PaPee was hurt, and we had

to get to their Mommy's house fast!

On the way there, they were filled with questions over this

subject; and I tried my best to calmly answer each one. The 7

year old all of a sudden blurted out "I told mommy not to cut

that grass cause that lawn mower was going hurt her!"

Then it dawned on me, it wasn't my husband in trouble - he was

the one who called. Something had to have happened to our

daughter.

As we approached the house, I looked up and saw people standing

everywhere. I tried to go around the bend and proceed to their

driveway, but found it blocked with police cars and an ambulance.

My heart sunk. I backed down pulling into the driveway across

the street; and as I began rushing up their hill, my husband was

coming toward me to get the children and all he could say was,

"The lawn mower turned over on top of our daughter!"

I rushed up to the house to find my daughter surrounded by

paramedics and policemen as she lay there with her body strapped

to that stretcher. I gently touched her arm, "I'm here hon!"

She looked over and replied "I'm okay Mama. Please take care

of my babies!" As they wheeled her up towards the ambulance, I

knew my focus had to be on our precious grandchildren, but

how? My heart was breaking with concern for our daughter. Next

thing I knew, family members were approaching me from all sides

volunteering to take care of the children. We were told not to

worry, and instead were free to go and care for our daughter.

As my husband and I headed for the car, I silently thanked God

for knowing my heart and freeing me to go. It was quite awhile

before either of us could speak.

Then my husband said, "I've never been so scared in my life.

All I could see was her head and all this liquid on the ground.

I thought it was blood. I thought she was dead. I felt better

once I realized it was oil that was all over her, but I didn't

know how we were going to get that mower off her.

"That thing weighs over 1100 pounds. I knew if we made one

mistake while trying to move it, we could kill her. Somehow we

got it lifted and pushed it off but I still don't know how.

She has to be all broken up. She could barely talk and her body

was shaking all over."

We entered the emergency room in silence. Our son-in-law

flagged us down and brought us to our daughter. She was just

lying there motionless; and although, they had cleaned up her

face her hair was still drenched in oil. She tried to talk but

her voice was weak. She was on her way to get x-rays so we

patiently awaited her return.

Finally in about 30 minutes the doctor came in telling us that

although she was pretty banged up, there was not a broken nor

fractured bone in her body. She would be very sore, but aside

from that, it was time to take her home. Praises to God were

echoing off every wall.

It wasn't until later when we were all sitting in her living

room with most of the family members that were at the scene of

her accident that the story of what actually happened began to

unfold.

Our daughter, with her voice still strained and weak, began by

saying that she was mowing the upper part of their front yard

and as she began to turn the mower so that she could cut next to

the retainer wall that was supported by three feet of railroad

ties, the front wheels began to slide. Next thing she knew, one

of the railroad ties cut loose and she was headed for the ground

three feet below her.

When she landed she felt the weight of the mower on top of her

and it seemed to take forever for the blades to stop turning and

the mower to cut off. She felt liquid on her face, but didn't

know what it was. She was alone and needless to say, scared.

"I knew my only chance was yelling out for help. I remembered

there were some utility men working on the power lines in the

field across the street; and I kept trying to yell at them to

help me but with all that pressure on my chest, I just couldn't

get out much more than a whisper.

"I knew they'd never hear me and the more I tried to scream out

the words, the more it felt like my chest was caving in.

"I started to feel like there was no air out there to breathe.

I tried to move my body but the only parts that were free was

one of my hands and one of my feet. I started kicking at the

flap on the mower hoping that they would hear that, but no one

was coming.

"I kept trying to focus but breathing now was really getting

hard. Then I remembered I had my cell phone in my back pocket.

I worked my hand down until I could get it out, but I couldn't

see to dial it. I fumbled around hoping that I could call 911;

and when I finally got it right, all I could say to them was

'Help me! Please help me; the lawn mower's on top of me.'

'They kept asking me where I lived, but the words just wouldn't

come out. I tried to dial our shop hoping my husband or dad

would answer and when I finally heard my husband's voice all I

could manage to say was 'Help - the mower - please help!'

"I didn't know what else to do. I didn't know if he could hear

me or not. I was so scared, and I was starting to panic.

I thought I was going to die and that's when I blurted out,

NO! I'm NOT going to die! I'm going to pray - please God help

me!'

"That's when I felt it. It was like I was being covered with

such a sense of peace and it felt like someone was stroking my

head in such a soothing way that it was helping me to

concentrate on my breathing.

"Then I saw my dad's truck tires. That's when I knew they heard.

That's when I knew my husband and dad were there with me."

That's when her husband's grandfather, who lives about a half a

mile up the road, spoke up and said, "I was outside and I heard

someone yelling. I knew someone was hurt and needed help.

"I jumped on my 4-wheeler and started to ride the fields. I went

down to those utility men across the street from you and asked

them if they knew who was hurt. They asked me what I was

talking about. I said, 'Can't you hear someone crying out for

help?' They said they couldn't hear anyone and then they

started asking me some questions about some power line. I told

them I didn't have time for that. I had to find that hurt

person. They all just stood there and stared at me like I was

some kind of a nut so I sped off and just kept trying to follow

those cries."

That's when his wife spoke up and said, "Well, I was in the

house and all of a sudden I heard you yelling out for help.

I new I had to get to you fast. I ran out to my car and headed

your way. When I saw you I knew there was nothing I could do

but try to get someone there fast. I saw those utility men in

the field and rushed to them asking to borrow a cell phone.

I called 911 and told them what had happened and where to come."

Her husband then said, "When you called I didn't know who you

were. The voice sounded like someone who had one of those

tracheal tubes in their throat. I couldn't understand what you

were saying cause I could barely hear you. Then I heard the

word mower and I knew. I ran to our 4-wheeler but the battery

was dead. I had just ridden it a few minutes ago and it was fine

but now the battery was dead?

"I ran to your dad's pickup yelling at him that I needed to

borrow it. I started to pull out of the shop and told him to

hurry and jump in. I couldn't talk until we were almost at the

house and that's when I told him that I thought you got hurt on

the mower. When we got to the house, I was panicking over the

time that it took to get his truck into 4 wheel drive cause all

I wanted to do was get up our hill so I could help you.

Then my husband said, "Man, I saw you throw the phone down and

head for your 4-wheeler. Next thing I knew we were speeding

down the road towards your house. I thought something happened

to your grandpa. I had no idea what was going on. Then I saw

my daughter and while you were trying to get my truck into 4-

wheel, I hit the ground and started to run. How we got that

mower off her I'll never know. That thing has to weigh over

1100 pounds."

We found out that our son-in-law's cousin was there because when

he got home from work his wife greeted him by saying

"Something's wrong next door. I feel it. You'd better go and

see what's going on."

We found out that our son-in-law's brother was there because he

drove by the shop and saw it all opened up with no one there.

He knew something was wrong with that picture so he headed for

their house stopping along the way to pick up their aunt and

uncle who were now also walking towards the house because they

were following the sound of the ambulance.

We found out that our son-in-law's father was there because he

saw several police cars down by the end of their road and since

they weren't heading towards the shop, something had to be wrong

at his son's house.

So I sit here in awe:

How did our 7-year-old grandchild know her mommy was hurt?

Why was our daughter mowing grass with a cell phone in her back

pocket?

What made that soft strained voice echo into the hearts of those

2 grandparents leading them to her?

What prompted our son-in-law to respond to that muffled word

"mower" coming from that unrecognizable voice?

What caused the battery to go dead in that 4-wheeler prompting

both my son-in-law and husband to head to her aid instead of

just one of them?

What gave those two men the strength to flawlessly lift over

"1100" pounds of mower off our daughter's fragile body?

Who told their cousin's wife that something was wrong next door

and her husband needed to go there?

What prompted all those people to put their lives on hold and

come forth so that I could go where my heart was crying out to

be?

This is one of those times when I feel that there just aren't

words worthy enough to lift up to our Father in praise for how

He protected, calmed and cared for one of His sheep.

It just puts me in awe that His formula is so powerful and

yet so simple. All we have to do is open up our hearts,

tune out the world and tune in our God. We must always remember

that hearing God's voice speaking to us is one thing. Obeying

God's voice, no matter how silly it may make us look to others,

is another.

PRAYER

Praise YOU FATHER and thank YOU for all Your sheep who are

willing to step out and obey Your every spoken Word. In the

MIGHTY NAME OF YOUR SON JESUS

Amen

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