Narda Reid
- Nov 30, 2023
- 5 min read

Injured but Not broken…

Updated: Dec 2, 2023

Thanksgiving Encounters: Praising God Despite His Deer Surprise!

How could I do a season of Thanksgiving without being thankful myself?!

Allow me to share a little dry humor with you. Do you know what are the 10 most popular meats eaten around the world? "The survey says...!" According to a research/survey done by Stakeholder Foods in 2022:

Pork, Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Goat, Turkey, Duck, Buffalo?, Goose,

and Rabbit in chronological order from most to least popular.

What a sad report! Not only because I am a complete vegetarian when it comes to food, but because I would have felt better if I had seen one more animal on that list. Sorry PETA, I promise that I am an animal lover and do hate to see them hurt, but I had a moment where I wondered.

Have you ever seen the Chick-fil-A commercials or billboards of the nice fat prime looking cows to encourage us to "Eat mor Chikin"? Well, I felt like there should have been a campaign to "eat more deer" one life-changing morning.

In October of 2021, I was living in Macon, Georgia, and commuting an hour to school in Milledgeville, GA. I was having a wonderful morning. I had a great devotion, I ate a great breakfast, the relationship with my boyfriend was going extremely well, my daughter was making good strides, and I just praised Jesus in every way that morning. I was sharing the testimony with a friend, Ozella, of how my daughter was making strides regarding her relationship with her father and God. I had not too long hung up the phone and was on the final stretch of my commute when I suddenly saw something in my headlights and slowed down drastically.

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Psalms 42:1 KJV

It was a beautiful deer. It was not in the middle of the road but had veered back unto the side of the road when it saw me. I had breathed a sigh of relief when I felt a ram into the passenger side of the vehicle and my car began a tale spin towards the middle of a three-lane road. I desperately tried to take control of the vehicle as the car careened towards the trees on the other side of the road. I remembered looking back to see how many vehicles were coming behind me... I could see lights in the distance and didn't want to have any collision with oncoming cars as well.

" It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:" Psalms 92:1 KJV

Finally, the Lord allowed me to use all the strength and wisdom I could muster to regain control of the 2018 Acura TLX. I had wrestled with the car, as Jacob wrestled with the Lord, until daybreak (Genesis 32, 33). I was very thankful for my spared life. I regained my composure and continued towards the school. The morning was uncannily beautiful, but I was in a state of shock. I got out and inspected the car. It had a huge dent on the side and no blood. Thank God. Who wants to remember blood all the time? I went inside and told my boss that I would prepare work for my students and return home. Why? I had feIt very emotional. I was not even sad for myself, I was sad for the deer. It was nowhere in sight after the accident, and all I could picture was it running into the woods to die. I was getting a little teary in the office and remembered saying to my boss that I had never hit a deer before (Well, the deer hit me).

I wondered how people could take the lives of others. This was traumatizing for me. I went to the doctor the following day and ran a series of tests. I was very sore, especially on the left side of my body. I also had severe nerve damage to both my neck and my hands. The doctor asked me to hold both her hands as tight as I could and I watched in dismay as my hands couldn't tighten around hers. There was almost no strength in them. They couldn't hold anything for long. I also couldn't feel much of anything when I pinch or squeezed my hand. I had a somewhat small frame, but I was always known for my

strength. I felt forlorn. I thought about how this was going to affect Narda Pella. Would I be able to do the massages, rubs, scrubs, and other body therapy sessions well? If I was dropping grocery bags, boxes, pots, and pans because my hands weren't cooperating with my brain, how could I be super effective when carrying the heavy pans and trays when catering plant-based foods for my clients who were seeking to become health reformers? I was depressed.

What was God doing now? Did He want me to do this ministry or not? I had to rebuild and replan. Narda Pella's opening would have to be delayed, again. I prayed to God during this time of great trial. I refused to bow to Satan. The Lord reassured me that He will help me establish Pella... just continue to trust Him.

For my mental health, I started a gratitude journal. Every day I told myself that I had to come up with a least 10 things to be grateful for in life. This helped me to deal with my negative thoughts. First and foremost towards that deer that didn't have car insurance, and I had to end up spending money that I could have put towards Narda Pella. Why did it senselessly run into my vehicle after seeing me? Why didn't people hunt and eat them more so that I wouldn't have had this accident? LOL! Even though I thought those things I still love those beautiful deer (except when they eat up my plants!).

Today, though greatly improved, I still can't hold a heavy pot with one hand the way I used to. I don't drop the bags anymore, but the amounts that I can carry have been reduced. The pain receptors are still not working much in my hands, but I do feel sore sometimes in my neck and arm areas after super long hours of driving. I don't type as fast, and the communication between my brain and thoughts has slowed... but...God is too good!

I am greatly thankful, that I can still hug, smile, teach, present, write, cook, and cater. I am not disfigured or crippled by my accident. All needed skills for Narda Pella's success have not been affected, but miraculously preserved. I was injured, but not broken! I love God even more! Satan was very angry with me and used the deer incident to try to frustrate my faith, but he failed. He wanted me to be dead or so badly injured. This would have immensely hindered ministry plans. I have learned to now be on the lookout for deer surprises, and also for the traps the enemy may try to set for me.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV