Nine lives?

No, this post is not about a cat. This past year I've been the chair of the local Christian Women's Club here in Bradenton. It is my responsibility to find speakers for our meeting. In February, we had a lady come speak to us. Her topic was "Struck by Lightning, Then by Love." She shared with us how, early in her marriage in Minnesota, she and her family went camping. She told us that was not her idea of a vacation...sleeping in a tent and cooking over a fire.

On this one particular trip, she and her husband were struck by lightning. She described the horrors of it all. They found themselves in a hospital room, lying beside each other, wondering when it would all end. They both survived, and she tells her story of how God became very real to her. She did not become a Christian just then, but later on, God's love won her heart.

This lady is now 82 years old. A designer of fashion jewelry, she enjoys being a special feature person at Christian Women's Club, and so we thought we would ask her to come back in December to talk to us about her jewelry.

I called her home Sunday afternoon and left a message for her. The next day her granddaughter called me and said that she had fallen out of bed and broken her neck, and that she probably would not be able to speak to us in December. The fall, surely by a miracle, did not paralyze her.

This morning my phone rang, and Wilma was on the phone. "Don't count me out for December," she said. I hope to be better by August. I didn't ask her how she happened to fall out of bed, but she shared with me how she ended up face down on the floor. She lives alone with her Maltese, and she said that she reached for the phone in the dark to dial her daughter. Her daughter came along with the ambulance.

As she entered Wilma's room, Wilma thought to herself, "What gown do I have on?" I guess she was wondering if she was presentable enough for the ambulance guys. Her daughter assured her that the dog had made sure she was covered up.

She went to the hospital where they x-rayed her, read them while they were wet, and told her she was o.k. She went home with her daughter. No sooner had she gotten home than they called her to come back in an ambulance. She had what is described as a "hangman's break." She should have been dead, or paralyzed. She is neither.

She's planning now to go to a rehab facility to recover. I was telling my daughter about her. She's a true example of how one's outlook and attitude help in one's recovery. If you're a praying person, pray for her. She has a tremendous speaking ministry, and I don't think she's done yet.

Two down, seven to go?