Yesterday something amazing happened and I know it was orchestrated by God. As I share this encounter let me give you a little background first. After Alexis died I became Facebook friends with a lot of new people. Some were friends of A...lexis , Sammy , and Hailey but some were strangers who heard about the accident .
Shannon falls into the latter category. She is a hair stylist at Legacy Salons. Right after Alexis died one of her clients came in to get their hair done. This woman had driven by the cross and had seen Alexis’ name. She googled it to find out what happened and was led to my website www.pomponstoprison.com and read my blogs. She told Shannon about the story. That night Shannon read every blog I had ever written. She reached out to me and we became Facebook friends. Every now and then we would message or comment but that was the extent of our relationship.
In October when I was going to Austin to speak I couldn’t get in to my salon to get my hair colored because they are now closed on Tuesdays so I called Shannon and asked her what the best over the counter product was, she told me to just come in and she would style my hair. So I did and we met for the first time becoming personal friends : ))) During this past Christmas Season , after Jennifer Davis put the Christmas tree by the cross , Shannon and her 4 year old son Liam went to decorate it. My heart was so touched. I have since started going to her to get my hair done because she can work around my crazy schedule . Even my daughter Hailey has started going to Shannon as well . Shannon is awesome and it is close to Hailey’s apartment.
Shannon is part of my ministry team now : )) I have an appointment set for April 16 to get my hair highlighted and to FINALLY get Riley’s hair evened up . We scheduled this because I am speaking in Corinth on April 21. That is the background and how our lives became intertwined.
Let’s fast forward to yesterday . I am at The Medical Center of Plano welcoming my Wesley Alexander into this beautiful world, it was a morning of joy helping to blot out the painful memories from June 7. As we were waiting for Shelby to be moved into her room from recovery I get a message from Shannon. It came from her mother’s Facebook account, we are now friends as well. She told me she was on the third floor in Neurology ICU and said she needed me. I told her I would be right down. This is a big hospital but it turned out I had to take a few steps and go down the elevator and I was almost there. I walked down to a waiting room and greeted her whole family then she came rushing into my arms with tears streaming down her face barely able to speak. Her husband was injured at work on Thursday night. He works on oil rigs and a hose with a metal nozzle fell from 100 feet hitting him on the head. He was wearing his helmet but still fell breaking vertebrae and shifting his spinal cord. His brain was bleeding as well. He was rushed to the hospital where he was put into a medically induced coma so there could be no more injury to the spinal cord. It was horrific. I immediately began to pray for her , Chris, and her family. I had to leave for work but told her I would return that evening.
Last night after visiting Sammy, Shelby, and Wesley I went to see Shannon. They had been move downstairs to the surgical waiting from and Chris was in surgery where they were putting in a Titanium rod with screws in his back to secure his spinal column. There were many friends and family there to support her. I went in and sat for a while and Shannon was trying to explain how we became friends. At that point she began to cry telling them how much I and my story meant to her. How my writing is an inspiration to her. It was hard to explain it all so I ended up sharing my testimony of how wonderful our God is and how he has Restored and Redeemed my life. It was a beautiful evening.
When I left work last night I never thought I would be sharing like that to a room full of anxious, frightened strangers who were trying not to give into panic, people that needed hope. People that needed to hear a story of hope. But I was prepared because I knew how it felt to sit in a room in that hospital and not know how things were going to turn out. I drew upon my experience of losing Alexis to share God’s peace and my story. It was just beautiful. I left a little while later and as I walked down the hall to the exit I was overwhelmed by God’s love and concern for those hurting. So very thankful he used me .
Chris made it out of surgery and even moved his toes. They are now waiting for him to wake up. Prayers for this family are greatly appreciated as there is a long road ahead. God is the master and he orchestrated every moment of this , knowing that I would need Shannon and she would need me. It is awesome how he works. My heart is broken that she has to walk this road but I am thankful God put me in her life to take her hand and walk it with her the best that I can . Like it has been said : Life is lived forward but often understood backward . I see his purpose now, at least part of it . I’m sure HIS plans are much larger than I can imagine Our God is an AWESOME God !!!