From Brokenness to Purpose…
Many of you know that my 20 year old daughter, Presley, was in an accident a couple of months ago, I shared it in this post.
For a while, she has wanted to share her story with all of you.
Please read and be encouraged by her story, in her words.
God writes the best stories and hers is handwritten by His love and mercy.
Presley’s Story…
From Brokenness to Purpose…
I never thought something like this would happen to me. Going into my junior year of college, I was an accounting major with a clear plan laid out in front of me. I had always been a planner, and I was so confident in the plan I had laid out for myself. I thought I knew exactly where I was headed. But in one unexpected moment, my life was flipped upside down.
It happened on what was supposed to be a fun day with friends. I decided to try a rope swing, and in seconds that felt like a blur, I missed the lake and hit the rocks instead. I fractured my neck and spine. What followed were days in the hospital, endless tears, and two long months in a neck brace.
To make it even harder, I was supposed to leave for a study abroad trip just three days later, something I had been excited about and planning for months. Suddenly, not only was I in pain, but everything I thought my summer and semester would look like was gone.
That season was filled with so much fear and uncertainty. I remember lying in my bed at night, crying because I didn’t feel like I fit in anymore, and worrying about my future. Everything I thought I had under control suddenly felt out of reach. I asked God “Why me” more times than I can count.
But looking back, I can see so clearly that even when I felt at my lowest, the Lord never left me. In fact, He showed up the most during the hardest days. Scripture says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18), and that became true in my life in ways I couldn’t ignore.
He was there through the nurses who cared for me so diligently, who inspired me more than they will ever know. He was there in the love of my family and friends. Every nurse and doctor told me how “lucky” I was to be able to walk due to the fracture of my C6 vertebrae.
I knew this wasn’t luck, it was the Lord’s protection. He was there in the little signs that reminded me of His presence, specifically, butterflies and sunflowers, whispers from Him saying, “I am with you.”
One of the biggest miracles was that during this season, God brought a new relationship into my life. My boyfriend came alongside me right in the middle of my pain, and I know without a doubt that the Lord used him as a reminder of His goodness and perfect timing. “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17), and I can confidently say this relationship was one of those gifts.
And perhaps another major shift, God used this accident to change the direction of my life completely. I went from being an accounting major to pursuing nursing, something I never imagined for myself before. But through the nurses who cared for me, God planted a new purpose in my heart. What I thought was the breaking of my future turned out to be God redirecting it into something more meaningful. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
This journey wasn’t easy. It was painful, scary, and full of tears and anxiety. But it also became one of the clearest ways God has ever drawn near to me. He took what felt like my lowest point and used it to show me His nearness, His faithfulness, and His ability to turn brokenness into beauty.
If there’s anything I’ve learned through this, it’s that the Lord is closest when we are hurting. He doesn’t waste our pain. He transforms it. He turned my fractured neck and fractured plans into a testimony of His presence and His power. As Isaiah 61:3 says, He gives us “a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair.”
So if you’re in a season of uncertainty or heartbreak, let me encourage you. God is with you, even now. He can take the things that terrify us and use them to change our hearts, our paths, and our lives in ways we never could have imagined. I am forever changed by this accident and will never stop sharing the Lord’s mercy and protection in my life.
Presley Hill
