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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN (04/13/17)
Accident or Purpose



“It was an accident, right Mrs. K? Do you forgive me?” That is a common phrase I hear from one of my high functioning autistic students whenever he makes a mistake. It is commonly followed with, “I’ll try harder next time.” Usually his accident is nothing more than a low score on a paper or a lapse in social manners.



Accident is defined as an event that happened unexpectedly without a plan or cause sometimes causing injury or harm (www.dictionary.com). Accidents can be as minor and self perceived as my student’s mistakes in a low scoring math paper, or as devastating as an accident that brings loss of life. Several years ago my sister lost her son to an overdose. It was unexpected and without plan. Accidents may be without a plan or cause, but can they have purpose?



One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, titled A Time for Everything. Verse one state, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.” Everything excludes nothing, even accidents.



Looking at the biblical definition of the word season in the scripture above it means the right time; the proper time. A similar New Testament definition for the Greek counterpart is a period of opportunity; a critical or decisive point in time (Hebrew/Greek Key Study Bible). In both of these definitions as it is used in the verse above, the word is correctly used as a noun. But what if we look at the English definition of season as it is used as a verb, it means to mature, ripen, or condition by exposure to suitable conditions or treatment. Do our accidents provide a season or proper time; a critical or decisive point to mature us; ripen us? In my student’s case whether for a low scoring paper, or a lapse in social manners, his accidents, as he perceives them, are teaching tools to bring him to an academic and social maturity. In my sister’s case, the devastation of loss of life is hard to find a purpose. But through her loss I have watched her go from a life without God to daily taking every breath and every step dependent upon God. Would you call that a critical and decisive point for her? Could it be a means to mature and ripen her for the Kingdom? Could this be the purpose brought out of the accident? Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” God is the only one capable of turning our heartaches, accidents, mistakes, and tragedies, back into a thing of glory, bringing praise to his name, and peace to our hearts.



Accidents will most certainly happen to everyone. They can be small or large, silly or devastating, and everything in between, but they are almost always timely and an opportunity to learn, mature, and seek the One who can bring forth His purpose for our lives.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
04/21/17
Beautiful message and wonderful job of bringing th topic to life.

BLessings~
Larry Whittington
04/23/17
I take the information in the first paragraph as true to life and it brought a joy to the reading of the whole piece.

Good observation and conclusions.
Candace Meiler
04/25/17
You did a beautiful job with the topic. It is so hard to see God's purpose in our trials, especially when we are going through them. I have experienced many trials in my life, but I always know that God will use my experience to equip me to help someone in the future. You did a nice job. Thank you for sharing.