Good Thing I Have a Hard Head!

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a very unusual situation. I know that many of you have heard the story, but I felt like it’d be fun to share the lessons I learned from that experience. For those of you that don’t know what happened, I had finished having lunch and was headed back to my office but needed to stop to get some gas. When I got out of the car I felt fine, but when I started putting gas into the car I started to feel light headed. Thinking I could just tough it out, I decided to lean against the pump and check my mail on my phone. The next thing I remember, I was dreaming, but not one of those pleasant, “I don’t want to wake up” dreams; instead, my dream was saying, “You’re not supposed to be asleep, wake up!” When I opened my eyes, I was lying flat on my back, with my car on my left and the gas pump on my right. I sat up and looked, and there was blood on my hands, and when I felt the back of my head I found a big cut that was bleeding. I stood up and assured everyone around me that I was OK. That seemed odd to them because of all the blood, but, again, my mind was telling me to just get out of there. Not the smartest move, but I drove to my office and made it safely. Ignoring the pleas of Tami, Pastor John Cruz, and Lisa, I decided to drive to my primary physician’s office to be patched up. They all tried to stop me, but in my stubborn state (and being the boss), they didn’t have much of a chance. Plus, I passed the ‘John Cruz eye test’! LOL

Once at the doctor’s office, they ran a few tests but told me I really needed to go to the hospital. Again, against the doctor’s recommendation and Tami’s urging, I drove to the hospital, which was only a few miles away. I assured her that I didn’t have a concussion and there was no problem with me driving. After several tests, they concluded that I was fine other than being a little dehydrated, and they figured my blood pressure had dropped. And when Tami asked if I had a concussion, they assured her that I did. They stapled me up and sent me on my way with instructions that I shouldn’t be driving…but I had to get my car home. Once home, I did rest for a few days and quickly ended up feeling back to my old self. All other testing came back great, so I’m good to go!

Now, lessons I learned: First, when you start to feel like you are losing control, get help. If I’d been smart, I would have sat down and let someone around me know that I was not doing very good. Find a strong Christian you can share with, and allow this person to help when you feel as if you are losing your direction.

Second, don’t be so stubborn, but listen to what others say. God placed several people in my path who wanted to help me, but in my stubborn ways I kept refusing. I didn’t want to put my problem on someone else and thought I could handle it. Not exactly the smartest thing I’ve ever done. How often, though, do we try to do that in our spiritual walk and then find ourselves regretting decisions we’ve made? Learn to trust God and those he will place in your path to help you.

Last of all, all wounds heal. My head wound and hand scrapes are almost totally healed and soon nobody will be able to tell I ever fell. We are all going to face situations in our spiritual journey, and we may even get hurt. But if we follow these three steps—get help, don’t think you can do it on your own, and know that you will heal—then we will be able to face any situation that comes our way in life.