God is in Control…If you’ll let Him
I've gone through so many struggles in these past two years alone - but struggles are God's tests of faith for us - the harder the struggle, the more we rely on God and get through it and God knows when something is too hard for us to overcome...
On Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011, I had gotten into a car accident (I was the only one involved, along with a bridge/tunnel wall). It had rained earlier that day and because it was now night (1AM to be more exact) it was kind of icy and slippery. It was also pretty foggy outside. I was going around a curb on the highway and I lost control of the car, spinning and hitting the wall twice. The car was totaled; I was sitting in broken glass and smells that I can still smell to this day (sometimes). Worse, I had shattered my left femur and needed surgery...4 of them to be more exact.
The road to recovery was hard. First of all, let’s talk about the physical healing process. After the surgeries it was difficult to get my pain management under control. Doctors weren't sure which medications to use and at what times. There were periods of times where I was in HUGE amounts of pain - but this was also the time I was relying on God. See, before the accident, I was going down a wayward spiral away from God. I knew He existed but I just wanted to do my own thing. During the time I was in the hospital, I was singing a lot of praise songs to get through the pain, leaning on the arms of Jesus to get over the hurdle. As I was recovering from home and I was doing rehab/physical therapy, hymns and praise songs were playing through my Pandora. Prayers were being uttered and my faith in God was being renewed. Physically, I had to go through months of physical therapy, 4 surgeries (the last one to take out all the pins and plates that doctors had to put in since it was shattered) and learning how to walk again.
Emotionally, I was kind of a wreck? I was initially scared at first with what had happened to the car. Yet God blessed me with a very annoying and very negative neighbor in the hospital. She complained about EVERYTHING. Yet, because she was there, I took charge of my own situation and did everything possible to have a more positive outlook in life. I was smiling more, trying to look happy (it's still hard when you are heavily medicated or in pain), and again, singing praises up to God.
Mentally was another story. I suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I was haunted by the images of the car accident, replaying them over and over again in my mind. I could still smell it, feel it, see it, etc... And it filled me up with dread every time. It took me many months (partially also because I couldn't even get into a car easily for a few of these months) before I could even drive again. Mentally, it was difficult - but with time, perseverance, speaking to an earthly counselor, and then praying to God, I overcame my fears.
This struggle would not have turned out the way it is now, had it not been for God. This struggle turned my life around, and it also reminded me of my original goals and dreams (to become a Christian counselor) and He made it happen. I am now a graduate student at La Sierra University, graduating this spring with my masters in counseling, and I will be continuing on towards becoming a school psychologist. God uses situations to speak to us and to remind us He is there and that He is the one in control (if we let Him) and that He only wants what is best for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says,"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Jessica Chung is a graduate student at La Sierra University. She is currently completing her coursework for her Masters in Counseling, graduating this spring, and will be working towards her doctorate in School Psychology during the Summer/Fall 2013. She was born and raised in NY, and attended the Northern NY Korean SDA Church for majority of her life. Currently, she attends Garden Grove SDA church and is enjoying the warmer weather.