Chapter Twenty:

Sienna had not imagine how difficult college would be, not only the work, but the way the campus was spread out.  She often found herself exhausted before she got from one class to another, making her realize just how being shot had affected her.  She would not dwell on that though, because dwelling on it was not going to change what happened to her, it would only suck out the energy she needed to live life, and live life was exactly what she was going to do, she had no other choice but to live the life the Lord had given her, and living it she was. 

She had her moments when she did struggle with what happened to her, after all she was only human, and Sienna could take only so much before she felt like she was going to break.

Sienna found her greatest comfort in the word of the Lord, and the friends and loved ones who surrounded her with love and support.  Without them she knew she would not make it that she could not make it.  She had to turn to the people she cared most about, she understood now that the Lord had put them in her life for a reason.

College was a time when many people broke away from their families, but Sienna drew closer because of what happened to her when she was shot, but also because of what had happened to her in her childhood.  She knew the importance of letting those you cared about let you know you cared.

Lord why is it that so often it takes us tragedy to realize how blessed we are?  Why can’t we see before something bad happens and always appreciate those who help us in all moments of life.

“Meredith, thank you.”

“Sienna what are you thanking me for?”

“For being my friend, for not running away from me when I told you the things that happened for all the times you visited me in the hospital.”

“Sienna I know you would do the same for me.”

“I just lost friends after I was shot, no real reason accept maybe that they were afraid, maybe they thought it was better if they just cut all ties.”

“That’s their loss.”

“I know that now, but when I was lying on a hospital bed all I could think about was that I was alone in this.  Yes I knew the Lord was with me and I had you, Mom and Kelsea, but that did not stop me from feeling alone.”

“I didn’t know that Sienna, I am sorry.”

“Meredith you have no reason to be sorry, you were there for me when I needed you most, and you listened to everything I had to say.  You really have no reason to be sorry.”

“I guess not, but I wish people would think before they reacted.  I never knew how ignorant some people could be when it came to things like this, acting like being in a wheelchair means someone could be contagious.  It just makes no sense to me.”

“Meredith amen to that.  I know I have experienced some ignorance since I was shot, truth be told in many ways I guess I was ignorant myself.  I guess you don’t know how you are going to react to something until you live with it.”

“I supposed that is true , but your faith Sienna, I know that carried you far.”

“It did, without that I would not have made it this far.”  Sienna said pointing to her Bible, she carried the small Bible with her everywhere and today she had marked to Colossians 1 for some reason at the moment that was the verse that spoke most to her heart.

Colossians 1

 ¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

 ² To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters^[a] in Christ:

   Grace and peace to you from God our Father.^[b]

Thanksgiving and Prayer

 ³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— ⁵ the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. ⁷ You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,^[c] who is a faithful minister of Christ on our^[d] behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

 ⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,^{[e] 10} so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of the Son of God

 ¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

 ²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of^[g] your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Paul’s Labor for the Church

 ²⁴ Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 ²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

Sienna took a moment to reflect on what she had read before she went to class.  It reminded her of how those around her had suffered when she had suffered, because that was the way God had made it, so people would know compassion.  Of course they did not suffer in the way she had, but even from early on Sienna understood that her being shot, did not affect only her, it affected all those she cared about, and who cared about her. 

Looking back she could remember how her Mom would pace the floor outside of her hospital room, how Kelsea would avoid the hospital as much as possible, and how Kelsea had tried to feel up the pain with idle chatter.  It did not matter how each person reacted though, they each cared in their own way and were suffering seeing what Sienna was going through.

Lord thank you for getting me through the months after the accident it was difficult during the first months but I have made it this far and I am thankful for all you have given me and I am thankful for all you have done for me.  I am thankful that I have gotten this far with you on my side. 

“I am glad you made it this far Sienna.  I am glad you are showing the world just what you can do.”

“Thank you Miranda, I just want people to see that something like this doesn’t mean the end.  You can still live a productive life even from a chair, sure some things may change, but it does not mean it has to mark the end.”