It is difficult to wrap my brain around the fact that it has been a year since the day we almost lost Cade. The details of that day are still so vivid in my mind. I remember the look on my husband's face as he told me that Cade had been in an accident and was being airlifted to Vidant hospital...I remember feeling like someone had punched me in the gut so hard that I lost my breath...I remember the blood that covered Cade's face and matted his hair....I remember calling my sister and sobbing hysterically while trying to tell her and my mom what had happened...I remember every sound, sight, and smell of the ICU. But more than all of that, I remember feeling God's presence in a way I never had before that night.

You see, I've had a personal, saving relationship with God for over 40 years yet often times I get so distracted and caught up in the demands of my day that I forget that the Creator of the universe resides within me, He delights in calling me His child, He is always just a breath away.

Not a day has gone by for the last 365 days that I haven't thought about what happened and all that God did to save our boy. The lessons we learned as we walked through this are so valuable and precious. Cade is a walking miracle! Every time I see a Life Flight helicopter fly overhead, I stop and pray because someone somewhere needs a miracle.

There's a part of me that wants to get past all this and never think about it again - Cade is whole and healed now so why not just pretend it never happened? Yet another part of me wants to make sure I never ever forget because it has shaped who my son is - it has changed our family - it is our Ebenezer. You may be wondering...what is an Ebenezer? It's a word used in the Old Testament, specifically in 1 Samuel 7, when the Israelite judge Samuel decided there needed to be a memorial set up to remember what God had done for His people. Samuel set a stone in a special place and "named it Ebenezer, saying thus far the Lord has helped us."

Looking back over this last year I can see so clearly how the Lord has helped us! He used people like you that prayed for us and supported us. God completely healed and restored Cade physically - He healed Cade's traumatic brain injury, his broken hip socket, his extensive knee and tibia injuries, his skull and facial fractures, his ruptured ear drum, his lacerated eye lid, and He has mended emotional wounds as well. God has provided everything we have needed. He has allowed Cade and our family opportunities to share this miraculous story of God's faithfulness numerous times. He has given us unshakeable faith and unwavering hope in His goodness in ALL things. So on the days I have to deal with all the medical bills that are still unsettled, I just raise my Ebenezer and remind myself "thus far the Lord has helped us." When I see the permanent scars on Cade's face and leg, I am reminded of God's never ending faithfulness to my son and to our family and I remember our Ebenezer.

Allow me to share with you from a devotional I'm reading now:
"So you'll find yourself in situations you don't like. You'll find yourself having to deal with things you didn't plan. You'll find yourself dealing with trouble you never thought would enter your door. You'll face the unplanned, the unexpected, and the unwanted. The reason you will is because your Lord will be using all these hard and uncomfortable moments to wrench you out of your satisfaction, to cause you to esteem His redemption and to create heart-and-life change that will not be created any other way. Your Lord pries open your hands and takes away your crutches and distractions. He exposes your weakness so that you will cry out for what He knows you need, but what you have been willing to live without. So be thankful for all that grace has done for you, but be dissatisfied. Don't quit before grace has completed its work. Cry out for more rescue, transformation, and deliverance. And be grateful that your Savior continues to work even in those moments when you don't value the work that you so desperately need."

I firmly believe God allows circumstances that bring us to our knees in order to display His magnificent grace towards us. And, oh, how my family has experienced that grace over this past year! We simply cannot fathom God's ways, but we can trust His heart - it's the heart of a Father who loves His children unconditionally and beyond all human comprehension.

There's a song by a group called ‘We The Kingdom’ that helped me tremendously during Cade's recovery and I still get chills every time I hear this line:
"I may not know what a day may bring, but I know Who brings the day. On my darkest night, when I cannot see, still my soul will say - I believe in miracle power..."  On this night, exactly one year ago, I couldn't see how God would bring anything good out of what happened. But God's miracle power showed me just how wonderful His grace to us really is, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Thank you for following us through this journey. We give God all the glory for the miraculous things He has done! Our family would love to hear from you if you ever want to reach out to us just send us an email mhedwards05@yahoo.com