Blast Waves

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More on Lance Corporal Jeffrey Knight:

Jeffrey is doing well considering where he is and what he's going through. He has finally had his legs closed and is anxious to get his prosthetic legs. He still has not seen his left hand yet. He got into a wheelchair a few days ago and the next day got an electric one so he could move himself around. He still has surgery nearly every day but they have figured out which drug was causing him hallucinations and other problems.

When the incident occurred, he was clearing a knoll of IEDs and just didn't feel right. He went back for some C4 to just blow the hill, and had it in his left hand. When he got to the spot he wanted, his metal detector went off and he knew he had stepped on the device. It threw him back and he landed on his back. When he went to stand, he couldn't and knew he had lost his legs. They train Marines nowadays that if they get caught like this they will probably lose their legs, but they have tourniquet kits on the side. They have one and a half minutes to get it on before they bleed out. Jeffrey reached for his, and it had been blown away by the blast. It took his comrades three minutes to get his tourniquets on.

As I initially suspected, Jeffrey was relieved to know that he was the only one who got injured in his squad and that no one died. He is very excited about his recovery. It's a long road yet, but all things considered, it could be tougher.

Many people would look at this situation and say why. They would question how a loving God could allow something so tragic to happen. What I know about it is that Jeffrey has been receiving a good  number of prayers, and they are working. He may never have his legs back, but he is right where God wants him to be.

Oftentimes we think of our children and say that we would do anything for them, especially if they were in a life threatening situation. Think about God, though. He not only would do anything for his children, He CAN do anything for His children. There is nothing that can stop Him from saving anyone he wants. And yet He allowed His son, Jesus, to die. The only being capable of stopping it, and yet He did not. He did not stop the crucifixion of Jesus and allowed him to die because that is what it took for us to be able to live.

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Shrapnel Lands at Home

Last week I shared an incident with a friend's grandson in Blast From Afar. This post is in some ways an update, but in others it speaks of God's Providence as well.

Jeffrey's mother lives near a town that is literally a crossroad with a gas station on one corner that only has one pump. Last Wednesday, the day after the family found out about His injuries, she was headed to the store and noticed a DAV van outside. After she finished her shopping she asked about the van and the cashier said they were setting something up out back. She went and talked with them. The Marines and other services are good about supporting their fallen troops, but the Disabled American Vets group told her that at some point she would come upon a question that no one would answer. When that happens she should look them up. They chose to take their road show to a little town in Texas, not knowing who they might find and stumbled upon someone who not only needed them, but who only just found out she needed them.

This second incident is as powerfully Providential and potentially more prophetic. Wednesday morning Jeff, his father, got a call from an odd area code. Thinking it was someone from the Marine Corps again he answered to hear, "Hello, Dad!"

After a short while, he found out that Jeffrey was in a field hospital but would be transferred to an Afghanistan hospital, then one in Germany, finally coming to Maryland (where he currently is). At the end of the call, Jeff called his brother Kenny, who was also a Marine, and found him riding his bike on a mountain trail in Georgia. Kenny rode 40 miles working out his anger and aggression over hearing of his nephew's injury. He pulled to the side of the trail and as he hung up to return to riding, he saw a couple riding up. He waited for them to pass before reentering the trail. The male rider had two prosthetic legs below the knee. Kenny decided to chase him down to talk to him, but as hard as he could pedal he never caught up with the double-prosthetic limbed biker.

God answers prayers all the time. He doesn't always answer them the way we think He should, or even sometimes in ways we think He did answer them, but they all get answered. I still don't know what the future holds for my friend's grandson, but whatever it is, I know it has God figured prominently in it.

In a comment on this blog I shared a. Einstein quote in which he said that there are two ways to view the world. One is as if nothing were a miracle, the other as if everything is a miracle. That has never seemed more appropriate to me then now.

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