A Lesson in Faith

From the Archives: Summer 2013

By Shelia Greene, Owner of North Fork Farms

In 2011, it seemed as if every corner my husband Jimmy and I would turn, there would be a lesson in faith. Almost every sermon or story that we heard dealt with faith. Little did we know that God was preparing us for the biggest test in faith that we would experience in 22 years of marriage. It was an ordinary day on the farm. Our eight year old, Seth, had just finished his mac & cheese and his chocolate Easter bunny. Seth is all boy and loves to mow. Seth begged to mow our neighbor’s yard. I was hesitant at first, but Seth had mowed several times before, so I gave in and told him that I would be out there after I finished up the dishes. 

I heard the mower start, and then minutes later, there was a knock at my door. Our neighbor’s nephew had been working on a roof and saw Seth wreck on the lawn mower. The yard was flat, and he never had any trouble mowing it before. Seth mowed around a rope swing like we’d done a million times before, and the swing swung around and knocked the lawn mower into high gear, thus thrusting Seth and the lawnmower over a creek embankment. There was nothing Seth could have done to stop this from happening. 

Our neighbor’s nephew rushed to the scene to find our eight year old pinned underneath the heavy lawn mower. Seth was under water, and he didn’t know if Seth was dead or alive. He attempted three times to lift the massive lawn mower off of our son, and on the third try, a super-human adrenaline rushed through him and he was able to lift the lawn mower off of Seth’s body. The man describes Seth, “somehow just floating out from underneath the mower.” He carried Seth to my back door. I panicked when I saw that Seth’s right hand was cut all the way from between his middle and ring fingers down to his wrist! I started screaming and crying. Seth was amazingly calm, and told me to relax because I was “freaking him out.” I made the 911 call, and in my emotional state, all I could manage to get out was that my child had cut his hand on the lawnmower. When the dispatcher asked me if Seth’s hand was bleeding badly, I said no, because miraculously, his hand had already started clotting and wasn’t bleeding that much. 

I waited for the first responders to come, but after at least 15 minutes had passed, no one came. I decided to take Seth to the hospital myself, so I called 911 back, and it was then that they realized the urgency in my voice. They told me that they would have an ambulance meet me at the Valley Grocery Store. When I arrived at the store, I realized that Seth’s injuries were much more serious than we first thought. In addition to his severed hand, Seth sustained two huge concussions on his head, and there was a large contusion across his stomach, which posed the threat of internal injuries. 

Divinely, a Wings helicopter was only twelve minutes out. When the helicopter landed, the wonderful Wings nurse, Kim, said that Seth, “needed his mama,” and that I was going to ride with Seth to Johnson City. I was happy to hear that I was going to fly with my son. Seth and I had talked about wanting to take a helicopter ride sometime, but we had no earthly idea that it would be under these circumstances. 

I didn’t realize it at the time, but God was orchestrating our traumatic ordeal and watching over Seth every step of the way. We learned that there was an excellent trauma surgeon on call, and that he would be operating on Seth’s hand. The doctor asked Seth what his favorite hobbies were, and when Seth revealed that he loved baseball and playing the piano...the pressure was on for Dr. Horton. The surgery was a success, and Seth presently has full use of his right hand. Had it not been for God’s timing during every minute after Seth’s accident, Seth would have lost his hand. It wasn’t until months later that it hit me how miraculous Seth’s rescue was. 

Though I didn’t realize it at the time, the first responders not showing up right away was divine. We have a wonderful team of first responders in our community, and normally the first responders in our area would arrive in 10 minutes or less. It just so happened that the man and woman who would have normally shown up were out of town. It was a real blessing in disguise, because had this couple shown up and taken Seth to our local hospital, Seth would not have had the opportunity to have a trauma specialist available to fix his hand. Seth likely would have lost his hand. 

Another revelation that made me realize that Seth’s rescue was divine was during a conversation that Seth and I shared while driving down the road one day. Seth said that the gentleman had pulled him out from underneath the mower. I corrected him and told him that he couldn’t have pulled him out from underneath the lawn mower, because it took both of his hands to hold the lawn mower off of him. Seth told me that he clearly felt two hands pull him out of the water. He said that they were not warm hands like mine, but that he indeed felt two hands around his wrists. I was astonished and left speechless. Jimmy and I knew that God had to have pulled Seth out of the water. There was simply no other explanation. 

Seth’s ordeal increased our faith beyond measure. God had his arms around all of us the entire time. The outpouring of love and support that we received from everywhere was astonishing. People from all over Watauga and the surrounding counties wrote cards and letters to Seth, helped with medical expenses, and most importantly, sent up lots of prayers on our behalf. 

God had a reason to save Seth. God wasn’t ready for Seth to go home yet. We feel so blessed that God saved Seth on that April day, yet we feel saddened for the parents who have lost their children in freak accidents. No one understands the Master’s plans and why bad things happen sometimes, but we know that God has a plan and a reason for everything. We may never understand it on this side of Heaven, but one glorious day, all things will make perfect sense. 

Jimmy and I thank God for Seth, and can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for his life. Our son recently played the piano at the Shooting Stars event held at Watauga High School. Supportive friends and family members shed tears of joy to see and hear Seth perform so beautifully. God is so good, and continues to bless us every day.