Two weeks ago today D4 left her home in California at 5:30 am to do a 20 mile run as part of her training to run a marathon with Mr J and D5. She ran a mile and a half and then met up with a friend she runs with. They had only been running together a few blocks when they turned up a street and encountered another jogger on the ground screaming as three dogs attacked her. (Click here to see TV report of the incident.) In the distance were two gunmen and coming upon the scene in the dark D4 and her friend were at first unable to discern what was going on. Were the gunmen part of the attack or help?
Frightened and startled D4’s friend started to scream which caught the attention of the dogs. Diverted from the jogger they rushed at D4’s friend knocking her to the ground and biting her. D4 sensing that being on the ground made her friend more vulnerable rushed in to help her friend back to her feet. In the meantime, the women realized that the gunmen were attempting to shoot the dogs but they had mainly shot in the air attempting to scare away the dogs because of the difficulty in shooting with the women in the way. However, they did manage to kill one dog and wound another before they ran out of ammunition.
Police and ambulances finally came and the jogger and D4’s friend (who is pregnant) were all taken to the hospital. The jogger was in serious condition and the friend had stitches in seven different places and was then released later that day. An ultrasound indicates the baby is unharmed. D4 was unharmed by the dogs, but the trauma she suffered is a different story.
This morning as I talked with D4 I was amazed. It will take a long time before the memories dim, the fear of dogs begins to diminish (it will probably never go away completely), and life lets go of the feeling of terror it has taken on. However, her thoughts now have been filled with the blessings that are coming out of this experience. Yes, there is still trauma, but she is also experiencing an incredible peace and understanding that even in tragedy there can be great blessings.
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| The Healer |
That is only the beginning of realizations and spiritual experiences D4 has had as she has pondered this traumatic event. She is being reminded over and over that God does have a plan and that He loves all of his children and that He has the power not only to comfort and heal and help us even in our tragedies, but to make those very tragedies into wonderful blessings in our lives. When the Lord says, “And all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory” (D&C 98:3) He really means it.
Wow,it reminds us that these bad things do happen for a reason, even the very worst of things. I am grateful, as I'm sure your daughter is, that you raised her with such a strong foundation of faith, and listening to the Spirit at all times. It is a trauma to get through, but look how quickly she realized to stay on her feet and make sure that her friend got back up. That whole situation could have been so much worse, and what a blessing it was that she was there, listening to the Spirit and helping her friends. I'm sure you're so relived she is safe, but you must be grateful and happy that she lives all you've taught her.
ReplyDeleteCathie
It is really amazing to see how God really does use us to help others, so happy to hear not lives were lost.
ReplyDeleteI am grateful that your daughter and her friend were there to help save someone's life. It really caught my attention also that the original jogger was probably by herself and it sounds like your daughter was by herself for the first 1 1/2 miles. I guess we all make decisions everyday of safety v. necessity, but I wish that we lived in a world that was safe for a woman to jog alone. I wanted to give advice to all woman who go out not to go out alone, but then I realized that they probably already know that and have reasons for the decisions that they make. A woman was attacked by a man in broad daylight in South Jordan? the other day but in an isolated area.
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