Son Of Thunder

Our fifth child was born with a full code hospital alarm. That should have been a signal to us that there would be more to come. Much, much more. Carol says that life turned into a storm that day in March, 1989, and has not slowed since. Behold, our son of thunder.

He slipped through the rail of his upper bunk, hanging by his neck (age 8).
He got hit in the head with a golf club, not once, but twice -- multiple stitches, same eye.
He lost his hair in splotches (age 10) – Doctor said it was due to stress. His stress or Mom’s?
He had a case of the shingles (age 15) -- Doctor said it was unheard of so young.

One afternoon I was riding ATVs at the camp with Michael. We came racing down a hill, around a curve. As I slowed down a bit, to wait up, his ATV came driving past me, without a rider. I looked back to see him laying in the gravel. He had rolled it on the curve, got thrown off, and away went the ATV. That was one of several ATV accidents. One rolled over him, backward, and required stitches. Another time he rolled it in a drainage creek up at Goldendale. It landed on him and pinned him underneath. Had there been more water he may have drowned.

What was I thinking? I let him get a driver’s license and drive a car. Two days after his sixteenth birthday he totaled his Mom’s car. The first time. She got a phone call, “Can you tell Dad to come pick me up, the car got in an accident and is dented bad enough that I can’t drive it home.” A neighbor picked up Carol, then picked me up where I was working, and we drove to the accident. Our hearts almost stopped. Fire trucks, ambulances, and sheriff cars galore. I didn’t know they had that many emergency vehicles in Estacada. He had turned left from behind a slow moving panel truck, directly into the path of an oncoming SUV. His car was so mangled it didn’t seem he could have survived. The fire chief said that if it weren’t for airbags in both vehicles they would have both been dead, or on Life Flight.

Then there were the many calls from the sheriff, asking us to come get our son. Bone-headed, risk-taking, stupid stunts. I sometimes joke that I got on a first name basis with a few local deputies. But we all survived a few humbling court appearances, some big lawyer bills, and some gut-wrenching lessons learned.

Several men told us how proud they were of Michael’s testimony when he got baptized in 2006. He admitted to his failures, but rejoiced in the grace of God. There would be more ups and downs, after that, but faith grows slowly with some. Especially a son of thunder. But like the first sons of thunder, the two disciples of Jesus (Mark 3:17), our hope is that God spared his life so many times because He wants to draw him close to His heart, for the glory of His incredible grace.

After the storm comes the sunshine. And with the sun, comes the rainbow -- the promise of God.

“There are two kinds of people -- those who say to God, "Thy will be done”, and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way.” - C.S. Lewis

“Above all else, guard your heart (i.e., the way you think and feel), for it is the wellspring of life.” “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 4:23; 3:5,6)