Shannon's Tree

This is from an email I sent out this summer...I have been sick with the awful virus that is going around and haven't had a chance to post...now that I'm feeling better, I have so much work to catch up on that I don't have time to post...I promise to work on more postings in the near future...


I believe in God; I believe in His miracles; I believe in His angels; I believe His everlasting love and mercy and grace are ever-extended to us...and I am so grateful to receive them! Our lives are but a moment...a flame that can be extinguished in an instant...where do you stand?

Today, my daughter, Shannon, while playing in my aunt's backyard, was struck by a falling tree. I am attaching pictures that show just what this miracle looks like; how angels surrounded her; how her life was spared. My whole body is shaking with the memory of this afternoon as I type this email...Shannon and Abby, our cousin, were swinging between two old pines when they heard a crack and saw one of the trees start to fall. As Shannon tried to leap out of the way, the tree fell against her and struck her on the head and the back of her left shoulder. Its descent was stopped by an old box that she had just moved from between the trees. Shannon fell into the space between the tree and the ground. The stub of a tree branch had pierced a hole in her shirt and she had a long abrasion running down the shoulder blade where it dragged along her back.

My mom called to tell us what happened and I called the doctor to see what we should do. They said not to take any chances with that kind of trauma and said to take her straight to the University Peds ER. When we got to my aunt's house, Shannon looked fine. At first, she had been dizzy and pale and in some pain. My mother described the kind of smash her head and neck must have taken, but we couldn't even find a bump. We took her to the hospital, anyway, and everyone who saw her chart said they just had to come in and see the girl who got hit by a tree. From the very first exam to the last, she checked out fine...completely fine. They even decided that she was so fine that they didn't need to do an x-ray, mri or ct scan! We were there for under 3 hours (thank you, Sis. Donna Benjamin!) and they were all amazed at her lack of injury. They kept saying, "She's one lucky girl!" We kept saying, "No, God is great!" and "Thank you, God, for your angels!"

The tree that hit Shannon had a 17 inch diameter. It was the 10-foot-tall remains of a big old pine. The yardstick in one picture shows where Shannon was when it fell on her and that it was stopped just about 2 feet from the ground. When my aunt forwarded the pictures to me, she included a picture of the back side of the tree. If that side had hit her, several 2-inch branch stubs could have impaled her in the back. The tree, as it fell, landed and perfectly balanced on the 1-inch by 3-inch wide board that formed a corner of the box. If it had rolled either way, it would have crushed her under it. My grandmother's only brother, Jim, was struck by a falling tree and died, at age 26, leaving behind a wife and four children. Life is so fragile...

In Psalm 91, it is promised that "He that dwelleth in the the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty!" and that "He (Jehovah) will give His angels charge over thee..." God's angels encompassed and saved her life; not just her life, but also her body was spared from any damage (besides a long, superficial scrape on her back)! Yet as I sit here in awe and thankfulness, I am confident that, if her life had been taken from us, Shannon would be with God. I don't say this because she is an innocent child or because I am a Christian; I say this because she has accepted Jesus Christ into her life. She is a born-again Christian, living to follow God. She was calm and at peace throughout the long day; she is not traumatized at all. In fact, she just finished a big dinner of lasagna and chicken parm (when you have a tree fall on you, you get to pick dinner :D).

If you are not saved, or if you don't know whether or not God is real, look at Shannon's tree and know He is real and His love and mercy endure forever. IF you will accept and follow HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST, He will change your life and give you true, lasting peace. When your fragile flame is snuffed out, where will you be? Those who choose Jesus have the confidence of eternity in Heaven. Feel free to forward this email to others who might need to hear it.

Praise God!