Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

By Shelley Hitz

Have you been through difficult times in your life? If so, you are not alone. Jesus says in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Notice that He doesn't say that we might have trouble or that if we have enough faith we will escape it. He clearly states that on this side of heaven we will walk through difficult times in our lives.

And yet we have reason to hope.

This book is my own personal journey to finding hope after a tragedy hit our family. However, I did not want this book to be my story alone. Instead, I want it to be a resource for you to find hope in the midst of your own difficulties. That is why I have added the sections that you will see through the book called, "From My Life to Yours," where I add journaling prompts and reflection questions for you to apply what you are learning to your life. I pray that God leads you to find His hope no matter what you are currently walking through.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

• Language: English
• Publisher: Body and Soul Publishing
• Release date: Nov 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301292431

Shelley Hitz

Shelley Hitz is an award-winning and international best-selling author. However, she gives all the glory to God for what He is doing through her life. As she likes to say, “God is the author, I am simply the pen.” Shelley has been ministering alongside her husband, CJ, since 1998 and her main passion is to share God’s truth and the freedom in Christ she has found with others. She does this through her books, websites and speaking engagements. She is also the co-owner of BodyandSoulPublishing.com where she shares free Christian books on her blog, owner of Self-Publishing-Coach.com where she helps authors get published and noticed and co-founder of CrossReads.com where Christian readers and authors meet. The main reason Shelley writes and publishes Christian books is to share her testimony, use the gift of teaching God has given her and bring glory to God. Ironically, she never dreamed of being a published author and English was one of her worst subjects in school growing up. However, God is now using her weaknesses for His strength to impact many for eternity (2 Corinthians 12:9). She is humbled and amazed that He chooses to use her and her life goal is to keep her eyes fixed on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Shelley’s openness and vulnerability as she shares her own story of hope and healing through her books will inspire and encourage you.

Book preview

Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Shelley Hitz

Published by Body and Soul Publishing

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from the author, unless it is for the furtherance of the Gospel of salvation and given away free of charge.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

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Other Books by Shelley Hitz:

A Life of Gratitude

The Forgiveness Formula

Mirror Mirror…Am I Beautiful?

Teen Devotionals…for Girls!

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Get notified of our book promotions and download Shelley’s ebook, How to Find Free Christian Books Online here:

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my dad, Chuck Sandstrom, and my step-mom, Auburn.  Together, we have watched miracles take place over the last several years as God has touched our lives with His healing power:  physically, emotionally and spiritually.  With their permission, I now share our story with you.

Table of Contents

Introduction

July 1, 2009: About My Dad’s Assault

July 23, 2009: Visiting Pity City

July 23, 2009: Breakthrough to Hope

July 23, 2009: Dad Squeezed My Hand

July 24, 2009: Dad’s Next Facility

July 25, 2009: Back to the Basics

July 26, 2009: Fearing the Future

July 26, 2009: Tips for Caregivers

July 26, 2009: On the Road Again: Traveling Back to Akron

July 26, 2009: When the Sun Shines

July 26, 2009: At the Hospital With Dad

July 26, 2009: Praying for Grandpa Chuck

July 27, 2009: A Few Highlights from Today

July 28, 2009: The Tidal Wave of Emotions

July 28, 2009: Dad Stood on His Feet in Therapy Today!

July 29, 2009: Faith That Can Move Mountains

July 29, 2009: Heart of Gratitude

July 30, 2009: The Jesus Prayer from Terry Bohannon

July 31, 2009: Great Progress in Therapy

July 31, 2009: Speech Therapy

August 1, 2009: Lauren’s Visit and a Smile

August 2, 2009: New Movements

August 2, 2009: Rebuilding After a Storm

August 3, 2009: Progress and Changes

August 4, 2009: Encouragement for Today

August 5, 2009: More Movement

August 6, 2009: Be Still and Know

August 7, 2009: Spending the Day with Dad

August 8, 2009: Starting to Get My Dad Back

August 10, 2009: Lots of Time with Dad

August 11, 2009: Battling Resentment

August 11, 2009: Back in Findlay

August 12, 2009: Sacrifices Made

August 13, 2009: It Feels Like a Miracle

August 17, 2009: The Love of a Father

August 17, 2009: Visiting Hours Update

August 19, 2009: Hearing Dad Talk for the First Time

August 20, 2009: Resistance Verses Routine

August 21, 2009: Last Day of Therapy at Manor Care

August 21, 2009: The Greater Impact Dad is Having

August 24, 2009: Dad Finally Made it to Edwin Shaw!

August 24, 2009: Fill My Cup, Lord

August 26, 2009: Quick Update

August 28, 2009: Edwin Shaw

August 30, 2009: Weekend with Dad

August 30, 2009: Overcome Evil with Good

September 3, 2009: Update on Walking and Talking

September 4, 2009: Re-Learning Everyday Tasks

September 6, 2009: Dad Called Me Today

September 07, 2009: A Different Type of Grief

September 10, 2009: In An Instant by Bob and Lee Woodruff

September 10, 2009: Swallowing Test Results

September 11, 2009: Eating for the First Time!

September 18, 2009: Preparing to Go Home

September 18, 2009: Miracle of the Moment

September 21, 2009: Changing of the Seasons

September 26, 2009: Visiting Dad at Home

October 8, 2009: Dad’s New Smile

October 11, 2009: Dad’s Visit to Findlay

October 18, 2009: A Week of Ups and Downs; A Week of Healing

October 21, 2009: Saying Goodbye to a Family Friend

October 21, 2009: Dad Will Be Visiting Findlay Again

October 23, 2009: The Way of Forgiveness: Living Forgiving

October 25, 2009: Ohio State Football at MawMaw and PawPaw’s

October 27, 2009: YMCA Works and the Posture Nazi

October 27, 2009: Visits from Friends and Playing the Wii

October 27, 2009: God is Providing

October 28, 2009: Yahtzee and Another Good Day

October 30, 2009: Finding My Pony

December 6, 2009: Dad’s Speech He Wrote and Delivered

January 30, 2011: An Update

The Story Continues…

Introduction

I recently heard the word hope described as this acronym: Hold On, Pain Ends. And I have found that to be so true in my own life. One of my heroes of the faith and Nazi prison camp survivor, Corrie ten Boom, describes it this way, When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.

This book is my own personal journey to finding hope after a tragedy hit our family. However, I did not want this book to be my story alone. Instead, I wanted it to be a resource for you to find hope in the midst of your own difficulties. That is why I have added the sections that you will see through the book called, From My Life to Yours, where I add journaling prompts and suggested prayers for you to apply what you are learning to your life. I pray that God leads you to find His hope no matter what you are walking through.

My Story

I had no clue how drastically my life would change this year. I thought some of my worst days were over. I thought that I had dealt with enough trials for one lifetime. However, on July 1st 2009, that all changed when my dad, Chuck Sandstrom, was assaulted. Once again, a violent act was committed against our family and this time it hit even closer to home, my dad. Dad was assaulted so severely that it left him in a coma for almost six weeks and resulted in a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

At first I was in shock and was numb. But, eventually, many emotions began to surface. Anger, grief, pain, unforgiveness. I heard myself saying, Lord, it’s not fair. Why our family, AGAIN? I don’t know if I can handle this. I realized it was time for me to walk through the path of forgiveness once again and choose to trust God with the pain, the hurt and the unknowns of this tragedy. And He led me down a path to find hope…hope in the midst of tragedy.

I won’t lie to you. It hasn’t been an easy road. And it’s not over. Dad is now out of the coma and progressing every day. He is walking, talking and eating again. He is now home. But, there is a long road ahead. Dad still needs a lot of speech therapy and cognitive therapy. He may end up losing his job. And they still haven’t found his perpetrator. Yes, there is still a long road ahead of us. But, looking back, I can see God’s Presence with us every step of the way. Every tear, every emotion, every joy, every disappointment. He has been here.

I’ve found out once again that what Jesus teaches is applicable to real-life. In the midst of pain, tragedy and some of the most difficult days of my life, Jesus brought me hope.

And He wants to do the same for you, if you’ll seek Him and apply His teachings to your life.

What I share in this book in my journal that I posted on my blog through the difficult days after my dad’s assault, coma and resulting traumatic brain injury. I opened my heart for all to see my journey…my journey to finding hope in the midst of tragedy. I pray God uses this book to encourage and inspire you.

My Dad and I on Dad and I During

Father’s Day His Recovery

(The last time I saw (Taken just shortly after

him before his assault) he came out of the coma)

July 1, 2009: About My Dad’s Assault

On July 1st, 2009 my dad was assaulted and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) that left him in a coma for weeks. We didn’t know if he would survive that first day and then the doctors told us that he might never wake up. However, we have seen God work miracles in the midst of this tragedy.

The Media…

The first article printed in the media about Dad was in the Barberton Herald. Several other stories were published later in the Akron Beacon Journal, Channel 5 News and the Findlay Courier. However, as usually happens with news stories, all the details were not 100% accurate.

Here are a couple items to clear up…

There was a vehicle parked at my dad’s rental property that was not registered to his tenants. It had been there for weeks and he decided to call the police and have it towed.

My dad’s assailant, Michael, was not a tenant but a relative of a tenant.  And witnesses say my dad was not in an argument. According to neighbors, Dad was attempting to reason with a highly volatile person about the towing of this unregistered vehicle that had been on the premises for weeks. Basically, he was a landlord taking care of business on his property.

Michael has a long list of previous arrests, many of them containing violence. He is known to have a bad temper. The police came twice prior to dad’s assault. The first time, Michael left and the police left. The second time, they arrived after Michael left the scene. The third time was after dad’s assault.

Reviews for Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

[sandra305 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As Ms. Hitz shares her journey through the initial dark valleys of despair following her father's severe traumatic brain injury (the result of a physical assault) with us, we are so there with her and her family. She draws us immediately into her family circle and we are there with her dad as he slowly emerges from his coma and begins his tortuous journey back to physical and mental health. I particularly like her "From My Life to Yours" sections where she shares insights, suggests prayers and journaling prompts, and offers suggestions and questions for the reader to reflect on. The scattering of Bible verses and relevant lyrics throughout also help to set the mood and provide ongoing comfort and reassurance. This is a book of hope, trust, faith, forgiveness, and so much more! And I love her statement toward the end of her book, "I want to learn to dance in the rain" which is exactly what she has learned to do. Highly Recommended!