Working on a book about finding God’s peace and strength in life’s darkest moments, I came across Joy Veron’s story. It unfolded in a homemade video, filmed in the cozy kitchen of a lived-in home. In the video, two teenage girls take turns holding up handwritten signs that give an unbelievable testimonial to a mother’s love. Chloe’s and Annie’s signs read as follows in their Mother’s Day video:
“We want to tell you a story about our mom” … “We lived in a happy home with lots of love and laughter” … “And a mom who loved us more than the world” … “But there was an accident in 1999 that changed everything” … “We were on vacation with my grandparents” … “And we were going to rent a log cabin” … “It was beautiful and overlooked a huge cliff” … “At the time we were seven, five and three” … “My parents and grandparents got out of the car to sign paperwork in the doorway” … “My sister, brother and I stayed in the car and watched from the window” … “Even though my mom had her keys with her, the car somehow knocked out of gear and started rolling toward the cliff” … “As soon as my mom saw what was happening she did the unthinkable” … “She ran in front of the SUV, determined to stop it” … “We remember the look on her face right before she went under” … “And we remember feeling the bump as we ran over her body” … “That bump saved our lives” … “It slowed the car down just enough for my grandpa to run up beside it and pull the emergency brake” … “The weight of the SUV on my mother’s body broke her back” … “She is paralyzed from the waist down and she will never walk again” … “But she says she wouldn’t change it for the world because her three kids are alive and with her” … “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.”
When I finished watching, my eyes were stinging with tears. I wrote to Joy to ask if I could use her video. She wrote back:
I would be honored for you to use the video. About a year after my accident, I was still in rehab searching and waiting for something to make me ‘whole’ again. I was in my bedroom early one morning, listening to my young children get ready for school.
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I realized what a sad house we had. There was just a feeling of grief always in the air. It hit me so strongly. I realized God was there and could bring good from this terrible event in our life, but I had to allow it and welcome the good. While the kids were at school, I went out and bought them journals.
I told them we would keep a list of the good and bad things from the accident. It wasn’t long before we saw the good list far outweighed the bad. I saw my attitude change, and joy and laughter began to fill our house again. It isn’t to say that there aren’t still days when we get aggravated, but I can truly say the blessings have far outweighed the negative. It wasn’t until I welcomed God to bless us through something that was so difficult for our family that we began to heal.
Joy Veron has learned the secret that God’s strength best enters our lives through our weakness and pain. Joy is living, breathing proof that God can bring good from the struggles and tragedies in our lives if we will only invite him to bless us through our difficulty.
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