All Things New
“Blue skies will take me back to being a child
Trees with leaves that turn the colors I love
A heart that’s beating to Your melodies ringing
And I am a miracle 'cause heaven is a part of me
You are the song that I am singing.
I was created to love You,
I was created to need You,
I was created to know You,
And I am a miracle 'cause heaven is a part of me
You are the air that I am breathing.
Because of who You are and who I am in You
You make all things pure,
Because of who You are and who I am in You
You make all things true,
You make all things new.
All things new.
I was created to love You,
I was created to need You,
I was created to know You,
And I am a miracle 'cause heaven is a part of me
You are the air that I am breathing.
Because of who You are and who I am in You
You make all things pure,
Because of who You are and who I am in You
You make all things true,
You make all things new.
And I'm so thankful for this life that I know
That I am no longer what I was
Because of Your love and the beauty of the cross
I can see Your work in me!
All things new, all things new in me!
You make all things new, all things new in me!
Because of who You are and who I am in you
You make all things pure,
Because of who You are and who I am in you
You make all things true,
Because of who You are and who I am in you
You make all things pure,
Because of who You are and who I am in you
You make all things true.
You make all things new...
All things new
All things new.”
“All Things New” — All Things New, Watermark {listen here}
I’ve mentioned previously that I would write about my parents’ car accident, but I’ve been putting it off. Even 3+ months later, it’s still a little too fresh to think about it all.
But I started Tune My Heart partly as a record of that day and the days to follow.
And though the accident is not something I like or want to dwell on, it is something that I don’t ever want to forget. As bad as it was, it could have been so much worse. And if I’m recording and remembering God’s nearness and goodness here — as I want to do — then I want an account of the day of the accident. Because God’s nearness and goodness (and protection and provision) surrounded my parents on that day, and in every moment after. Besides, the accident site has actually become a source of praise and remembrance for me!
The Accident | 8.31.23
My husband and I were in Kansas City for vacation and we’d just walked out of the movie theater; we saw Barbie and we were laughing about it as we walked to the car.
Almost immediately after we got in the car, I saw a call from my brother coming in. We mostly text each other, so seeing his call made me grab for the phone. My phone was still on silent from being in the movie theater; I’m so glad I didn’t miss his call!
“Hey Mel”, he said. “Mom and Dad were just in a really bad car accident.”
He went on to tell me that they’d gone for a ride and that the wreck occurred just outside the entrance to the development where they’d moved to just a little over two months before.
I know that my brother gave me quite a few details but I only remember that he said my parents had been in a head-on collision with a dump truck and then he said, “Dad is in pretty bad shape.” He was getting ready to follow my dad’s ambulance to the hospital while the EMTs were getting my mom into another ambulance to transport her.
As my brother filled me in, my husband could tell from my side of the conversation (and from the tears streaming down my face) that we needed to go back to the hotel to pack and make the four-hour drive to my parents. I spent the twenty minutes packing and most of the trip back crying, imagining the very worst, and then submitting my worries to God in prayer.
And I prayed for my parents — oh, how I prayed!
I asked God to be with them and for them to rest in His nearness. I asked Him to give them healing and comfort. I asked Him to be their Shield, their Glory and the Lifter of their heads (Psalm 3:3). I asked Him to guide the doctors and to give them wisdom in how to minister to my parents’ injuries. And then I remember reminding myself that God is faithful and that He was in control of what had happened. I gave Him my heavy, hurting heart and trusted Him to be near to all of us.

The four-hour drive went really quickly, even in spite of my racing thoughts and worries. My husband put on the final episode of a podcast series we’d been listening to from Serial and the New York Times (Nice White Parents), and that helped distract me and passed the time.
My brother also called a few times to keep us posted and to pass on some some early good news:
neither of my parents had internal bleeding or organ failure
they were both awake and alert, though in a lot of pain
my parents had been moved from the ER and admitted to the hospital
All I wanted was to get to the hospital to see my parents but we had to make a pit stop at their house to feed and let out their dog and ours; they had been taking care of Ollie while we were on vacation and my brother left the two dogs without a second thought when he got the call about the accident. Both Ollie and Moses were in good spirits and had only been alone for five hours or so, so I was glad for the distraction and to be able to help my brother in that way since he had been with my parents.
It was after 8 PM when we finally made it to the hospital, and I was so relieved to see my parents’ sweet faces! My dad was smiling and making jokes; my mom was less animated and a little weepy, but she still smiled when she saw us. Neither of their responses surprised me and it gave me such peace to see them.
Following the accident, I learned so much more about the accident and the minutes following —
My dad couldn’t hold up his head or feel his arms and legs. Ultimately, his spinal injury (affecting his C6 through T3 vertebrae) was millimeters from causing paralysis, according to his spinal surgeon.
The EMTs considered calling a Life Flight to airlift my dad to the hospital, but decided against it since there was not a good place for the helicopter to land.
My mom had to have her jeans cut off of her, due to the fast swelling of her broken leg. And in moving her to the stretcher from the car, she was in such extreme pain that she cried out many times. She had broken her left humerus — just below the shoulder joint, her left pinky finger, her right tibia — just below the knee joint, and fractured a vertebrae in her lower back (L5).
A good Samaritan (who ended up being a physicians assistant) witnessed the accident and stopped to help. She went to my mom first but my mom sent her to my dad. This woman held up my dad’s head and kept it steady for him until the EMTs arrived and could get him in a neck brace. This brings tears to my eyes every.time I think about it — I had been asking God to lift their heads even before I had known my dad couldn’t lift his head on his own. I am so grateful for God’s provision in this woman! She also called my brother to let him know about the accident.
In addition to the physicians assistant who stopped to help, I am grateful for so many, many things.
While I hate that this happened to my parents shortly after they moved to Arkansas to be closer to us (they’re 90 minutes away), I am beyond-grateful that they were close! If they had still lived in Florida, neither me nor my brother would have been able to be there so quickly.
I am also grateful that my brother was living with my parents at the time and could get to the scene of the accident within minutes after he received the call from the woman who stopped to help.
I am grateful that my parents were in their SUV (versus their Mini Cooper!) and that it performed exactly as it should in an accident.
I am grateful that my dad thought and reacted quickly, even though the driver of the dump truck did NOT course correct as he should have.
In every minute of the day of the accident, and in every day — in every moment — since, God has shown Himself trustworthy. He has shown Himself faithful.
I can honestly say that His goodness and mercy have followed us (Psalm 23:6), and He has taken such loving and kind care of us over and over again.
God is in the business of redeeming all things.
He makes ALL.THINGS.NEW — even broken hearts and broken bodies!