Many of you may remember an accident that happened about a year ago involving our four year old great niece, Porcia DeLance. Porcia was run over by a lawn tractor-mower. Her leg was amputated above the knee. The doctors worked for many hours reassembling the many pieces of the leg and reattaching it to her little body. They were amazingly successful and were able to put everything back together except for about half of her foot which was just too badly mangled.

It was a terrible incident in the life of that child and in the life of her family. It left her small body scarred and disfigured, but not her spirit!

One of the good things that came out of this terrible accident is that her older brother and sisters began to attend church with us. Porcia is five now and in the past few months she has begun to go to Bible school and worship with us also.

The siblings, who were all there at the time of the accident, had to undergo some counseling for the trauma. They are all doing okay now and Porcia is doing amazingly well! She runs and plays right along with the other children! Her knee is stiff, so she runs a little awkwardly, but she runs and plays just like any other child — laughing and smiling all the time.

I guess that is the thing that impresses me most — the infectious smile on her face most of the time. She is quick to give you a hug and a smile before she runs off on the next adventure. She still has a long way to go and faces more surgery in the future, but she is whole in spirit.

Isn't it amazing how God designed the human body — how resilient and adaptable it is? I'm reminded of something the Psalmist wrote in Psalms 139:14: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Isn't it amazing?
Praise God that though Porcia is missing half of her foot, she is a whole child! This blessing is due in part due to the skill of her surgery team, but mostly because of her Creator.

If you ever need some encouragement to be thankful, remember how marvelously God has made us and how blessed you truly are. Even though we sometimes forget, we really do have many things for which we can be genuinely thankful!

May the Father keep each of us whole in spirit, even if our body is broken or our life is shattered by tragedy ... and may we always find reasons to give thanks!