One of the store workers was on a tall ladder near where I was engrossed in my key hunt. Suddenly, without warning, I got clobbered in the head with something heavy.  Looking down on the floor I saw a large pair of pliers. I got hit on the head by a pair of pliers!

While thinking about a Sunday School lesson for our church kids I had jotted down Philippians 4:8. I thought that would make a great lesson and the title would be, “The Key to Thinking Right.”  I knew my kids liked all kinds of real keys so I started looking for different types and sizes to use as an introduction to the lesson.

My favorite store to look for Sunday School help is our huge hobby store in town. My husband, Joe, went with me. When we got to the store I went on my search for keys and Joe did his thing which was to sit in the chairs up front and talk to the other men sitting in the chairs up front.

I had wandered through the store to the back wall where they kept miscellaneous items. One of the store workers was on a tall ladder near where I was engrossed in my key hunt. Suddenly, without warning, I got clobbered in the head with something heavy.  Looking down on the floor I saw a large pair of pliers. I got hit on the head by a pair of pliers! I started involuntarily shaking with fear. You see, it was only a year ago I had a bad fall, causing an acute subdural hematoma that required two brain surgeries. I now have a forever metal plate in my head. I was scared because I thought that the heavy pliers hit my metal plate and I would need surgery again.

I stood there in the back of the store shaking and crying. It wasn’t a pretty sight. The worker who had been on the ladder looked as shocked as I. He kept saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Someone had called the store manager and he was at my side trying to calm me down. “You don’t understand,” I choked out. “You don’t understand,” I repeated. “I have a metal plate in my head and I’m afraid that the pliers hit my plate. I don’t want any more CAT scans and surgery!”

Through the scene of trauma a kind, calm lady came over to me and said, “Your cheek is bleeding.” She left and came back with a wet paper towel to clean my cheek.  “Are you here alone,” she asked caringly.  “No, My husband”…I couldn’t put a sentence together. “Is your husband in the store?” she asked.  “Yes, yes …he should be sitting up front.”  The kind woman went looking for Joe, found him, and brought him back to where I was now sitting.

“Are you okay,” Joe asked immediately. “I don’t want to go to the hospital.” was my shaky reply. Joe turned and asked the store manager what happened. He told Joe that the pliers fell while the worker was climbing down the ladder and that the pliers hit your wife on the head.  “Where are the pliers?” asked Joe. The store manager showed Joe the pliers. He looked at the them and looked at me and said, “We need to have Dr. Challa check your head and he’ll tell us what to do. I’ll call him and see if he can see you. Joe called the office on his cell phone and they said to bring me right in.

Joe drove and I prayed out loud, through more tears, “Please Lord, no concussion, no CAT scan, no surgery.” We didn’t have to wait in the waiting room; Dr Challa took me in right away. He checked my head and said, “Not bad. It looks like you didn’t get a direct hit on your metal plate. The bump on your head isn’t dangerous and your cheek was just grazed.”  He checked my eyes and assured me that I had no signs of a concussion and I won’t need a CAT scan. All I needed was a tetanus shot. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers, I whispered to myself.

A few days later a calm me was back to preparing the Sunday School lesson. I read Philippians 4:8 again and the Holy Spirit, who is my teacher, prompted me to think about this verse and the flying pliers incident.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, If anything is excellent, and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4:8).

Think, Miriam, what was good about your latest head crashing? I thought of the worker on the ladder who was devastated that he had hurt me and apologized over and over. I thought of the consoling store manager who came to calm me and stayed with me until Joe came to my rescue. I thought of the kind lady, my angel of mercy, who carefully washed the blood off my cheek and found Joe for me. I thought of my fearful prayers in the car, and answers to those prayers when the doctor told me that I didn’t have a concussion or need a CAT scan or surgery. My first responders were wonderful and caring. There was a lot of good in the accident and worthy of praise.  “The Key to Thinking Right” is a lesson for me and my Sunday School kids.

Epilogue

I went back to key hunting for my Sunday School lesson. I found some old metal keys at a flea market that were perfect and there were enough keys for each of my kids to keep as a reminder of the lesson. And there was one left for me to keep as a reminder of God’s love, grace and care.

Miriam Gautier is a member of Springs Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Dunnellon, Fla.