A Thankful heart prepares the way for you Oh God....

So a great deal has happened in the last week. Well we made it to Dallas, and let me say that my amazing friends from The Oaks blew us all away. The Art auction was unbelievable! We raised almost $3500 for Blood Water! They had massage therapists and yoga and a dance party and well they spoiled us.

Next is the twist in the road. Sat was the Water Walk. We made $7000 for clean water in Africa! So after the water walk, the team rode out together. Many of you fine folks from the Oaks were cycling with us which was awesome! I don't remember much but I was involved in a cycling accident. It was pretty serious. I went head first into the pavement. My helmet was cracked in 3 places. I then continued to ask the same 5 to 10 questions for SIX hours. That's right, 6 hours! I had a pretty serious concussion. They took me to Methodist (where I work in the ER). Everyone there was amazing. Ryan Andrews called ahead and they had a room waiting for me. Of course I do not remember any of this. Cat scan was negative but I was still not coherant. Dr. Hancock decided to turn me over to the Trauma surgeons and I was admitted to the hospital. Around 8pm I started to come around. My sweet sweet husband was by my side the entire time. What a precious lamb of God.

Then the neurologist came by the next morning. The first thing I said was "Dr. Shalan, wow seeing someone like you is very expensive!" Due to the mechanism of Injury (My helmet being cracked) and the fact that it took me 6 hours to become coherent, they wanted a neurologist consult. So they ordered an MRI. Just to make sure they didn't miss anything. It was negative. Praise God! The doc said he was surprised that I didn't have a neck fracture and that if I didn't have my helmet on I probably wouldn't have survived the crash.

This is where the story takes a turn. The surgery team said that I needed to be off my bike for 2-3 weeks but after the neurology consult they told me more like 3-6 months. Due to suffering a severe closed head injury If I were to have another concussion before I fully recovered I could potentially suffer brain damage according to the neurologist.

What that means for me is that I am off my bike for at least 2 weeks and possibly the duration of the tour. I immediatly began to cry. There were so many questions racing through my mind...

Should I even finish the Tour if I can't get on my bike?

How did this even happen?

God, what is going on?

How is the rest of my summer going to look like...in the van?

In the mist of this confusion...I hear Andrew say "This summer is not about cycling. This summer is about being apart of something bigger than yourself." He was right. I signed up for ridewell because my heart went out to these precious people in Africa who were in need. That I want my life to be a blessing. I signed up because I want to be a vessel that God can use. God can use me in the Van. God can use me anywhere if my heart is in the right place. Then I read this scripture.."A thankful heart prepares the way for you oh god" I needed God to make a way in my heart. I began to thank god for protecting me when I fell. Thanking God for letting me be apart of this amazing experience called Ridewell. For having an amazing husband that is crazy in love with me. To be apart of a community like the Gathering (the young adults group at the Oaks). To have air in my lungs and a brain that functions. God is so faithful and he is in the midst of this entire situation. My heart began to be tender. A thankful heart prepares the way for God to move in my life.

I am 2 days into riding in the van. My goal is to be a blessing to my team. To serve wholeheartedly and be available for God to use me WHEREVER I am. So at the first water stop we made encouraging notes for every rider and played some dance music for the team. It felt good to leave my pity party and be apart of what God is doing in this team. God help me to have a thankful heart for you to use this summer!