does God have your attention?

If God has to choose between your eternal safety and your earthly comfort, which do you hope he chooses?

How far does God have to go to get our attention?

What does he have to do to stop us on the fast track?

People, TV, Hollywood, books, advertisements, work, money, recreation and food all have our attention. But does God?

Sometimes we get so sidetracked with life, that we clearly lose our focus of God and the higher purpose he has for us.

For some it’s a small financial setback.

For some its a near-miss accident.

And for others it’s a CRASH turn-your-life-upside-down event!

We are wise when we quickly take notice of it and correct it on our own, but in some cases God has to put a HALT in our life.

I wanted to share with you this true inspiring story

of how God got Dr. Rich Edwards attention.

On February 10, 2006, I was in control of my life

and I liked the direction things were going.

I had a thriving chiropractic practice, two sons, and a devoted wife.

On February 11, everything changed.

I was heading out to my hunting cabin where I planned to meet up with friends and hunt wild boar. As I drove along I could see the effects from the severe drought we had been experiencing. Everything seemed to have dried up and died.

By the time I reached the road heading to the cabin it was dark. As I turned I missed the road and ended up in five feet of thick brush. I tried to free my truck by putting it in forward, then reverse repeatedly. The friction from that somehow ignited the brush.

Within seconds the truck was a large torch.

I reached for the door handle to escape but the electrical system burned out and I was locked inside.

Seconds later the windows exploded.

I don’t really know what happened after that, and I have no idea how I got out of the truck.

The next thing I remember is walking down the road to the cabin telling myself over and over, “Don’t stop. Keep going.”

When I reached the cabin my friends thought I was wearing some kind of three-dimensional leafy hunting outfit, but it wasn’t camouflage. It was shredded, charred skin. A medical helicopter took me to a burn unit where I was told I wouldn’t have much of a face left, and I would probably lose my sight as well as the use of my hands.

God put an absolute halt on my life.

I was so busy being so successful; I was on such a fast track that God was a part of my life but he was not the most important part.

He was not on the throne of my heart or at the center of my universe.  I was at the center.

I don’t believe God caused the fire, but I believe God allowed it because he wanted to get my attention. Like a parent who tries to get through to a child, God grabbed me by the shoulders, sat me down, and said, “I want you to listen to me.”

That was the beginning of spiritual awakening in my life.

Over the next four years the doctors amputated seven fingers. I couldn’t use what was left of my hands for even the simplest tasks. But doctors said there was nothing more they could do. That’s when my wife, Cindy asked about the possibility of a hand transplant. That began a time of waiting, testing, and prayer. We spent countless hours reading the Bible and praying together.  Finally the day for my double hand transplant arrived. Twenty surgeons and three anesthesiologists took 17 1/2 hours to attach my new hands.

Many people have pointed out that it was a miracle that I didn’t die in the fire that day. That’s true, but in a very real way I did die in that fire. The man I was died that day, and God gave me a new life where I’m not in control but have turned the controls over to him. I’m not in charge of my life anymore, but I have submitted everything to Jesus.

These days my wife and I constantly pray to be used by God in any way he wants to bring him glory. It may sound crazy, but I would rather have gone through all of this pain and suffering and all of these challenges and have the relationship with Jesus that I have now, than continued down the path I was on before the accident without that relationship.

My name is Dr. Rich Edwards.

More about Dr Edwards Transplant

http://www.handtransplant.com/ThePatients/RichardPRichEdwardsJrDC/tabid/170/Default.aspx