Foust Family Support - Lemons to Lemonade

Hi! My name is Demrie; Karen Foust is one of my best friends and her family has become part of our family. I bet many of you can say the exact same thing! We all love them so much; it's unimaginable to think about our lives without them... so let's not do that! Instead, let's celebrate them and help them focus on God's glory and His protection over them.

Last night Jesus took the Foust's wheel and held them in His arms when a deer jumped in front of their SUV while driving about 75 miles an hour. After a weekend of celebrating Parker's high school graduation, all five of them packed their bags, stuffed their car with all their vacation supplies and hit the road to Florida. They want to spend quality family time together before the summer gets hectic and Gwen and Parker have to leave for college. They are also planning to see Karen's dad; they have not seen him in over a year!

I woke up this morning to Karen's text, "We hit a deer last night! Going 75! Airbags went off! The car is totaled, but we are all ok! Thank you, Jesus!! Today is going to be a mess! We're just outside of Tallahassee." My heart stopped... I felt like I couldn't breathe for a moment. I read her message five times before understanding what happened AND what didn't happen!

When accidents of this magnitude happen, it's easy to focus on what happened. It's easy because it rocks you to your core. Your life flashes before your eyes and you think about all the what ifs. I know, I've been there... I bet you all can relate too. And while the accident could have been tragic, it wasn't! All of the Fousts are ok. There are bruises, trauma and some uncertaninty about how they will navigate the rest of their vacation and vehicle repairs (if it can even be repaired)... but there is NO uncertaninty about the how blessed they are to walk away and continue on their vacation together... ALL FIVE OF THEM!

Can you help me surprise them with a few extra bucks to continue on with their vacation and maybe take it to the next level. This morning they were at the car rental place, dealing with insurance, figuring out what to do with their car and worried about how to get it home. They want to continue on their vacation, see Karen's dad and focus on each other. God is so good... and becasue of that, this was not a tragedy. It was a miracle, and if we focus on the miracle we can see God and share His glory. Life is hard, but we can do hard things and get through hard things... especially when we do it with each other.

I talked with Karen this morning, through her tears (and my tears) she told me she is still so shaken. She said she just keeps praying to God, thanking Him for His protection. I know Jeff and Karen are not expecting anything from us. But I also know they will be overhelmed and grateful with our gift and encouragment to help them continue on with their family vacation. Praise God they can continue with their vacation... let's help them do that!

Feeling grateful and blessed,

Demrie Henry-Welch