One of the goals for the year was set out by someone close to me. This person challenged me to reach out and forgive the young man who caused my life's path to change over six years ago. Below you are going to see the letter which I have sent to him outlaying the positives which he has given me through the accident.
What good is reading my letter going to hopefully do for you? Ultimately, I hope that you will look at your heart and see if there is someone who you have not fully forgiven. It has taken me nearly six years to address this issue. (Can I hide my face in shame!) Remember that forgiveness is given to those who choose to forgive. Just as our Father in Heaven has forgiven us, multiple times a day, we are called to show that same forgiveness and mercy to others.
My letter to Isaac, the young man who hit me six years ago with his car, at the age of 16, is being dropped in the mail in the next day or two, but feel free to share in the healing which I am experiencing at this time. May your transformation come from knowing that God is a loving and compassionate Father to HIS Children…to which we are all a part of HIS great family.
Dear Isaac,
I am sure that you do not know who I am, but I want to introduce myself. I am Erin Meyer; I am the woman who you hit with your car on May 29, 2006. I am sure you may be wondering why I am contacting you, but I wanted to share with you what has been happening in my life since the car accident that day. You gave me a gift; at the time looking back it seemed like a curse. Yet, God in his sovereignty allowed trouble to bring rebirth of a new life from the ashes of misery. I am going to tell you my story which you have been a chapter of.
At the hospital that day, I had a stress fracture in my knee where I had compacted it into the dashboard. I then went an entire month walking around on a stress fracture before it literally snapped nearly in half where it connects at the knee. I was at the time getting ready to start my student teaching and was forced to take a semester off of college to learn how to walk again. What made my journey even more difficult was the fact that at the time I weighed over 440 pounds. My doctor had told me after the plate and six screws were inserted into my leg that if I did not figure out some way to lose the weight I would never walk again.
To say that a root of bitterness towards you began to grow in my heart would be an understatement. I was incredibly upset and angered as a 22 year old woman who was ready to graduate college and start on my career path of becoming a teacher. It took a great deal of time, prayer and belief that my faith in God and the Bible with verses such as Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things, God works together for the good of those who love him who are called according to HIS purpose." I had to make a choice to believe that God had a reason for all of this occurring in my life even if I was unaware of what that was.
I persevered through the pain of a broken knee/leg to learn how to walk again. My father had to quit his job to take me to physical therapy as often as I needed to attend which was three times a week for two hours each session with multiple personal therapy sessions at home. I had to quit attending Emporia State on full scholarship for academics because I could not return in my condition.
Through the grace of God, I was given a second chance at life through diet and exercise. I was allowed by God to complete my undergraduate as well as Master's degree program in education. I have successfully completed my fourth year of teaching here locally in Olathe, Kansas, in addition to being nominated for multiple teaching awards and even being published in a national textbook for educators. Fox 4 here in KC has run three different specials on my journey and the success which I have had in overcoming obstacles in my life.
The car accident caused me to take a serious look at my health and get real with the course of life that I was traveling down. I have been able to lose over 235 pounds to reaching at my goal weight for my height and body size. This path started on the day the car accident occurred on, not by choice at the time, but has become my choice and lifestyle ever since. Never in my life was I ever able to fathom being healthier now, then I was as an adolescent. Through this journey, I was able to win a national weight loss award through Weight Watchers, in addition to being interviewed by People Magazine and Men's Health.
You may be wondering why I am sharing this story with you, Isaac. The reason is simple, you started a chain of events, and the outcome maintains to be one of a positive change in one life; one which is having a domino effect in many others. Many people are using my success story as one to spur them to get more active and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I am using my faith in Christ Jesus as well as my personal drive to maintain the weight loss and inspire others to get healthy as well. What was possibly a situation which could have caused me to enter a depression and never fulfill my potential as a person has transformed me as a living example of a mythical bird, the phoenix. Greek mythology speaks of a bird which when it has fully aged, dies by spontaneous combustion. From its ashes, a new bird is reborn. My life is a living example of this metaphor, a woman rising from the ashes of a life of certain death before.
You were a bend in the road of my life journey which offered a fork for which path my life took. I took the road less traveled, yet, I am SO VERY THANKFUL for the car accident. While I did not feel that way at the time, I feel that way now. I would go through all of the pain, surgeries-4, and treatments which I do simply to find the lessons which I have learned along the way.
Simply stated, I am thankful for the accident, and I am not bitter anymore. I have forgiven you in my heart for what happened years ago. I wish you the best possible life and I hope that my journey encourages you in your life and can spur you to achieve great things because we all have a spirit of perseverance and potential to achieve our dreams. You are currently about the age that I was when you caused my life to change for the better. I hope that I can spur you to fulfill your leadership potential as you embark on your journey.
Isaac, you are a child of God. He created you in HIS image and has a purpose and a plan for your life. While you may or may not know what that purpose is, it could have been even for you to have hit me with your car that day so that I could fulfill my life's purpose and goals. Whatever the reason, we each have a journey and a plan for this life that has been laid out for us to fulfill. It is up to us to follow and reach our full potential in God's work or fail. I know that you have a call and purpose for being here on this planet. May you fulfill all and more that has been set upon your heart and dreams. I am lifting you up in a prayer the evening that I am finishing writing this to you. I know that you can achieve whatever you set your heart and mind to. I know that I have.
May My Lord and Savior Christ Jesus Bless Your Life Richly with Joy and Happiness,
Erin Meyer
