Grateful for a Painful Trial

Professor of Social Work George Huff has seen his share of trials: the difficulties of families struggling with life challenges, the suffering of abuse victims trying to recover and find hope. But one of the greatest trials George encountered was his own. 

On July 21, 2014, George was riding home from Cedarville on his bicycle when he was sideswiped by a truck and catapulted into a nearby farmer’s field. He was immediately in excruciating pain, going in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of a good Samaritan who stopped to help him, and the words of emergency crews as they determined the best way to transport him to a local hospital. 

His time in the hospital was also harrowing and painful as doctors discovered that his spleen had been crushed in the accident and he was bleeding to death internally. After surgery to stop the bleeding and two weeks in trauma care, George was released home, but this was one more step in a very long journey back to health. 

Although he was certain several times he would die, and even though he suffered greatly, George’s perspective is unwavering: God was watching his way, even in the midst of the accident, and He has a plan even in this. 

“Though I planned my paths that day to ride my bicycle, He directed my steps,” George shares in the podcast. “In 1 Thessalonians 5 it says, ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all things’ (v.16-18). Many of us won’t be hit by a truck, but we will feel like we’ve been hit by a truck. What should our reaction be? Are we going to give thanks? I want to give thanks for being hit by a truck.”  

……….

George shared the story of his accident and recovery in a video shown during the Thanksgiving Chapel service in 2014.