through the eyes of my brother.

*WARNING: LAST PICTURE MAY BE A LITTLE GRAPHIC*

I know I have a lot of updating to do myself, but other things have been happening in my family, particularly to Jon (oldest brother). Through him, I hope you are encouraged and reminded that in our weakness, we are made strong.

A few months ago, Jon was in a car accident, leaving his car totally smashed. Praise God that no one got hurt. 

A few days ago, Jon was in an accident involving his left hand. His dust collector had something lodged inside of it, and thinking it was disconnected, he pulled the item free, only to have his hand in the turbine's path as it began to spin again. After 6 hours in surgery, these are the results: 

3 bones broken with plate and screw (4th metacarpal, 3rd and 4th proximal phalanx/digit)
1 tendon laceration repaired ( 4th flexor digitorum superficialis)  
1 bone removed (3rd distal phalanx)  
2 fingertips removed ( thumb and 4th finger)  

As an outcome to these events, this is a post that he wrote: 

The last year Cheryl and I have been praying earnestly for God to give us more faith. That we might decrease so that He might increase. For the most part, we felt that this meant leaving my job and going back to school for seminary. I'd like to say that we don't often know what an answer to a prayer like that looks like, otherwise we wouldn't be able to call it faith. So that's when our car accident November 1st happened. We're sorry if we didn't share this with anyone, but I am just now rediscovering social media. To put a long story short, we didn't get any insurance coverage and lawyers didn't have hopeful outcomes. Our only car was a total loss, and there was a period of time where we very much questioned the decision for me to give up work. What I want to relate is this: the thing that gives me express peace and joy is that none of this has happened apart from God's will. And where God's will is concerned, He will give us the grace to endure. As God says to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 when he pleads with Him to remove the thorn from his side, "my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." Oh what perfect grace and wonderful love! My prayer today, "it is my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death" (Philippians 1:20). Can we be challenged to not assess answered prayer to the degree or duration of suffering but to perhaps the greater thing... where God allows suffering, it is a ministry to our benefit? Don't get me wrong. I haven't "accepted" anything. I'm going to work hard in rehab and physio. I wrote a thank you card to the trauma team, "don't worry, when I learn to play my violin again, you'll be hearing from me!"