Sunday, Dec 23 and extremely happy

Now I have a good question for you to think about and respond to if you want. What does the statement of "being the luckiest guy in the world" mean to each of you? That is me!!! There are so many things for me that are going well. I have the most wonderful person in the world taking care of me EVERY day. How could I have known 26 years ago that I had met this person? Only God could help me in this way!!! We have three wonderful daughters together that are all special to me in their own way. It amazes me to see the wonderful women they have grown into. Again, God's help on raising these girls has been great, as usual. If the three of them was not enough, we were also blessed with Matt, too. At 11, we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but God will help us make him a pretty good guy to have around, too.
I get told every day that I am SO LUCKY to have lived through this accident. Again, God was on my side to make sure I was here for it all. I know there were nearly 2 months of my life where they were not sure I would make it or not. That wonderful wife of mine and God pulled me through all of this. I also know my girls all did their part to help me, too, even though this was hard for all. Reading about all of this first part makes me shiver. I know this was hard on all people that were involved. I do not remember any of this first part because I was in God's hands and He was protecting me DAILY. I can only imagine I was not the best patient in the hospital, but the nurses all said I was a great patient. Enough sweet talk to them and someone would help me sneak out. This is the crazy part of me talking there. All I know is that I just wanted out. I tried one time. They left me alone once while Betty was running some errands and I figured out this was my chance to go. A nice little scar on my head proves I was not all there! When Betty returned, she found me on the floor in a pool of blood, passed out from the fall. I thought I had this escape figured out but God made sure I stayed where I needed to be. After that, the hospital put me in a bed surrounded in net. I could see the zipper holding it together, but could not reach it. Again, God was the one in control of my life and I could not be more thankful for it.
I hear stories from many friends and family members that tell me how bad I was looking, but that they were all glad I was still alive! This has been a tough six and a half month run for me and I am not all well over it yet, but I am still following God's plan to get better. I have the opportunity to spend a nice Christmas with my family and then get to WALK my daughter done the aisle for her wedding. I know there will be many people there that I have not seen in a while and many more that have said they wish they could, but can't. I do understand all of this and God has helped me to accept this. The event is going to be a nice time for all of those that can make it and we are all looking towards this happy moment. I can only hope this marriage is as good for Megan and Matt as it has been for Betty and I.
I am feeling OK this morning but still have some pain. It is hard to explain to anyone just how bad I feel and can still feel happy about it. This does not click with some people but I think most understand where I am in life. Now, back to my original question. How can anyone understand that I am not the lucky guy in the world right now? I can walk with a slight limp and breathe my own air without help. I think the term "luckiest" may be an understatement for me right now. There is too many people in this world, both here and in many other places pulling for me. I hope you all understand how important you are in my life. It does not matter who you are or what kinship you are to me. I have people that are cousins pulling for me. I have people that are in Betty's family pulling too. (Yes, these are members of MY family, too). I have so many people here in town pulling for me and people that are friends of friends or family pulling, too. I have met so many people that I did not even know before this accident that are pulling me through this, too.
I know this accident make me long winded, but you just have to understand how important life is to me now. If you read all of this, you are a special person to me. If you only read half, you are still special to me. If you just think and pray for me, you are up special to me, too. You must understand, I Love You ALL so much. You have been an important part of my life and I am so glad you cared enough for me to help me work through this.
On my last note, I want to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas. Please think about why we all have this Holiday. Jesus was born on this day and we all have to remember, He is the reason for all of this special time. Don't be afraid to thank Him for all of your happy times and ask Him for help if you need it. It really does work!!! I am still here because of His help towards me!
Love to all,
Mark 12/23/07