The flower pot story

There was once a flower pot

which ended up on a road

in a small little town

in West Borneo.

There was once a teenager

only 15.

He was riding his bike,

in the middle of the night.

There was once a motorcyclist,

cruising at night,

it was just another night.

oh it was just another night.

But the motorcyclist hit the bicycle,

the teenager got thrown off

landed on the flower pot

the flower pot on the road.

The flower pot smashed into a thousand pieces,

as the poor boy landed on it,

ended up with a sore back,

nothing more he thought.

2 days passed, the pain persisted,

but that teen, he sucked it up like a man.

It was just an accident, it will go away somehow.

just a sore back,

nothing more, he thought.

But oh who knew, the pot damaged his kidney.

started peeing blood, he finally gave up.

his parents freaked out, brought him in.

the doctors listened, amazed at his story.

why would there be a flower pot on the road?

why did he cycle at night?

why did the motorcyclist not see him?

why did he land on the flower pot of all places.

If only one of the many things in this sequence of events did not happen, his kidney might still be intact. He might not require surgery. His parents need not go through that traumatic experience of waiting nervously in the middle of the night while their son might just bleed out on the table. He might have 2 functioning kidneys. He might be happily living his life as he should, instead of being weak, in pain, as if he was dying. I was given the honour of making the final cut in that operation, the cut that disconnects his damaged kidney from the rest of his body. But honoured? I didn't really feel that honoured. Too many things, bad things happened for that final cut to happen.

But they happened anyway. The flower pot, the cycling, the motorcycle, the timing was so accurate. Even stuntmen might not be able to get it so accurate for the sake of shooting films.

When things like this happen, it's so hard to still say 'Everything is in God's hands', or 'God has a good plan and purpose'.

Did He really have the flower pot, the cyclist, the motorcyclist all in His hands?

Did He?

I tell you what. He did. He really did. He did not cause the suffering. No He didn't. Could He change the outcome? Sure He could, He is all powerful. But He let it happen, for a plan. Something that we might not understand, might not fathom with our shortsightedness. He who created the universe, knows the stars by their name, is the same He who sees each sparrow, who numbers every hair on my head. (hopefully not dwindling numbers :P) No one can fully understand Him, except for the little bits He reveals to us, a little at a time.

But anyway, back to the boy. The boy survived the surgery, with one less kidney. Thank God he did not bleed out, I would have freaked out to see a pool of blood in his abdomen while holding the sucker. If that happened, i'd be nothing more than a sucker with a sucker. And just as many things had to happen for him to be injured, many things had to happen for him to be saved.

Somehow, in a place surrounded by forests, missionaries decided to come from their far far away land and build a hospital, complete with an operating theatre and a 24 hour A&E service. God worked in the hearts of many people involved in that surgery long long time ago. The surgeons, the assisting doctor, the hospital director, other staff, nurses etc. just to get the hospital to where it is today, capable of saving his life that night. He could have bled out even that night itself. So many other things had to happen just for him to be saved. And so many things had to happen for me to witness this. That really made me feel honoured.

Last i saw this young man, he was still in a bit of pain, but he was peeing normally. He was much much better, his parents standing by his bedside while we examined him. Last i heard, he was well, with a scar and some 20 odd stitches that will need to be removed in probably a week or two, but well, healthy and discharged. Praise God.