From Little Rock to Greers Ferry
After a very challenging flight for my Dad and I from Medford, Oregon to Little Rock, Arkansas, my Dad’s wife Carmi picked us up. We spent the night in Little Rock. The next day we drove to Greers Ferry, a cute little tourist town on a lake of over 30,000 acres. This was my new home. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt at first. I was still coming to grips with my limitations and recovery from my accident. I was having issues with my heart and my lungs and I was still in severe pain. That all grabbed my attention more than the move. I did feel alone, but that was the same feeling I had back in Oregon. My family was daily helping me and I will forever be grateful to them but I felt alone ever since my accident. I was struggled to cope with my new limitations.
It took a couple months for me to get into a “normal” rhythm here in Arkansas but I finally came around and started to open up and enjoy living with my Dad and my step mom. I started attending their church regularly and decided to call West Side First Baptist my church home. Not only did I ask to be rebaptized to publicly profess my rededication back to the Lord, but I also stood up in front of the church (Men’s Church) and gave my testimony for the first time. Since then, I have gotten involved with the Youth department, help run the sound booth and I’ve taken over responsibility of transforming the churches’ technology mediums.
My home life started out a bit rocky, mostly due to my own immaturity, but thanks to my Dad helping me grow, I am working daily to be the best man I can be. I have an amazing relationship with God and my father and my spiritual maturity has grown exponentially. I’ve had more personal growth in four months than I have in the last four years. Between Carmi’s accent, my Dad’s antics and my horrible memory, we stay entertained with never a dull moment. I still miss the rest of my family but I finally feel like this is home.
My physical recovery has been bumpy at best. In the last two months, my artificial hip has dislocated four times with each new dislocation causing me more pain than the previous. My most recent trip to the ER by ambulance took an hour and that was after lying on the ground in the back yard for an hour. About a week ago, my hip doctor broke the news to me that I am going to have to have a third surgery on my hip. I’m less than thrilled but if there is one thing that I’ve learned since my accident, is God will give me the strength to get through it, no matter how hard it is, no matter how much more pain I will have to endure.
My only regret since moving here has been not having enough faith to say to a mountain on the West Coast to move here with me. Arkansas is a beautiful state but it is missing some nice mountain ranges. I’ve braved the waters of the Buffalo River in a kayak, fished the dam water off Greers Ferry Lake and 4 x 4’d through the Arkansas back woods. I am officially an Arkansan.
