The Story of Two Girls

It all started 5-½ years ago. Two girls. One tragic moment. One life changing event. 

We start with the youngest. Eva. She had played all morning, had just petted and hugged her dog and then ran off to join a neighbor mom and her friends for a ride on their golf cart. Out of the blue, no explanation ever coming, she suddenly fell off the back and proceeded to suffer a severe traumatic brain injury. An injury that surprisingly came to be known by hundreds and thousands of people. Somehow Dugan’s (her dad’s) social media exploded and, soon, people all over the world came to know of Eva, her accident and her battle for life.

Which brings us to girl #2. Maddie. A 22 year old in school and far from God. One night she’s having dinner with her parents when they begin to tell her about a little girl who had a bad accident. The next day in school she hears more about this girl and the droves of people coming to her hospital room to pray for her. And then she sees countless pictures on Social Media with the name “Eva Love” written on hands. Maddie suddenly felt the inexplicable need to pray for Eva. But, at the same time, feeling unworthy to pray because she had never had that kind of relationship with God. But she did it anyway. And as she did, for the first, she experienced the unmistakable presence of God in her life.

To the point where today she is, not only, Eva’s Small Group Leader, BUT Maddie’s getting baptized on Easter Sunday!! All because of this life-altering accident of 5-½ years ago.

You can imagine the emotions that have been running through me since I heard Maddie’s story. I keep thinking about the verse in Isaiah. Isaiah 61:3

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

The pain and suffering that has come from Eva’s accident has been overwhelming at times. The unfairness of it all. The questions and doubts of God allowing this adorable girl to succumb to this place of trauma to her brain. How many times have I asked God, where are you?

But here he is. Acknowledging that, yes, in this world there will be trouble. There will be pain and loss and suffering. But he is ever present. Usually doing his work unbeknownst to the rest of us. Yet this time, this time I got to see. Got to read about and will soon see for myself the miracle of God. How he took Eva’s trauma and turned it into an opportunity to show himself to a young woman whose life is forever changed.

Eva Love. Life and Love. I’ve often thought of her name, how well Dugan and Linds knew her so well before she was born. But I’m coming to see the greater picture. That Eva’s life and love is not contained just within her but extends far beyond her. To the point where Maddie, and probably more, have come to know God’s life and love because of a little girl named Eva.