An Eastern NC Duck hunter was shot last week in a hunting accident. This is an account of that incident along with notes and Bible verses. This account was written by someone close to the injured hunter. I thought the readers of this board would want to read this. My sense of this board is that the contributors and readers, on a regular basis consider their blessings and value their families in the context of duck hunting, and so I hope no one is offended by this post. I enjoy reading the posts here and have so for several years now.
The following is a recap of the events that transpired in the life of Lawrence Duke and Will Teague Saturday morning, January 2, 2010.
William Duke’s recap of the events:
You may not know this yet so I wanted to let you know. My brother Lawrence was in a serious hunting accident Saturday morning. He was hunting with friends and family at Pamlico Point near Hobuckin NC. He was accidentally shot in the thigh and he ended up having his left leg amputated. He was hunting in a blind with my brother-in-law Will Teague and the guide was nearby finishing setting decoys. A 12 gauge shotgun was accidentally dropped and fired through Lawrence's thigh destroying the femur bone, severing the main artery and causing an obviously huge amount of trauma. Lawrence fell over the front of the blind onto dry land between the blind and the water. Will Teague called for the guide to come help and took the guide's knife and cut open the waders. Will had some training in first aid and knew to put a tourniquet around Lawrence's upper leg to stop the bleeding. Will took off Lawrence's belt and cinched it down around his leg, cut a new hole in the belt with the knife, and buckled it. Will found a sturdy stick and put it under the belt and turned it hard, tightening the belt, until he felt the bleeding stop and the blood turning cold with his other hand. He held it there for about 1 hour.
Will and Lawrence called 911 and the ambulance took about 1 hour to arrive at the empoundment. They called Will and Lawrence repeatedly saying they could not find them. When the ambulance finally arrived my Dad saw it from where he was hunting driving down the dike. That was the first he knew of an accident. They got Lawrence into a small row boat and took him across the water to the dike. Then they brought him up the bank and onto the dike and into the ambulance. They transported him about 15 minutes to a small town called Hobuckin where a helicopter had arrived and was waiting. The helicopter transported him to Greenville's Pitt County Memorial Hospital. He was conscious until he arrived at the hospital. He went immediately into surgery and the doctors soon agreed the leg would have to be amputated. The doctors also said he would have bled out completely within 5-6 minutes from the wound, and that whoever knew how to use the tourniquet saved his life.
A look at these events through the lens of Scripture: written by Russ Andrews
I had the privilege of meeting Lawrence about a year ago when he came by my office one day and introduced himself. He said he wanted to get involved in one of my Bible studies as he wanted to turn his life completely over to the Lord and walk with Him the rest of his days here on earth. So, he soon began attending not one, but two of my studies. I lead a group of about 15-20 young men who are from 24-35 years of age at my house every Monday. Lawrence began coming to this study.
When I heard what had happened to Lawrence I knew that I had to go and see him. In fact, this past Monday as I was preparing for our Bible study at my house (the one Lawrence would normally have been coming to) I received a call. On the other end of the line I heard someone say, “Good morning Russ, this is Lawrence.” He was calling me from his Intensive Care Unit. I couldn’t believe it. He knew we were getting ready for Bible study and he just wanted to talk.
Later that afternoon, I drove down to Greenville to visit Lawrence. This is what he told me about the accident. He said that the impact of the shell blew him out of the blind. He looked down and saw the water turning red and he saw that his left leg was nearly blown off. Will was on him immediately and began to apply the tourniquet. As Will was tightening the tourniquet, Lawrence yelled at him to stop. But, Will continued tightening it informing Lawrence that he was not going to let him die. Will saved his life!
Lawrence said that he felt the presence of the Lord with him. At first he thought he was going to die, and he said he was at peace knowing that he was going to meet his heavenly Father. He said that an incredible calm came over him.
Later, as he was being transferred from the impoundment by boat over to a waiting ambulance, Lawrence said that he focused his mind and heart on the cross. He said that as he did this, he sensed the presence of Jesus with him. An incredible calm continued to hang over him.
When I met with Lawrence Monday afternoon, he told me that he was more concerned about Will than he was himself. He told me that if anyone came to know the Lord as a result of this, then it was all worth it. We prayed. He held my hand. When I was emotional during my prayer, Lawrence squeezed my hand tightly. Lawrence gave me comfort. He said he was battling some fear, but that as soon as he focused on the Lord, the fear dissipated.
Lawrence is going to be okay. He knows the Lord. The Lord never gives His children more than they can handle. The Lord promises to be with His children no matter what they go through.
So, what does the Bible have to say about pain and suffering in the lives of believers? Let me give you some truths from the Word of God.
1) In this world we will all have to deal with pain and suffering. We live in a fallen world. Death entered the world when man first sinned. We have been dying ever since. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The Bible also states that “he sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” We will all have to face difficulties, pain, sickness and eventually death! It is part of life. But let me ask you this: Would you rather face all of this with the Lord or without Him?
2) For the believer, pain and suffering have an eternal purpose and God can and will work them out for good. Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…” Here’s the deal: if you choose to follow Christ, He promises to work everything out for good for those who love Him, even amputated legs. Our life here is short. We will be on the other side of death very soon. Then, we will see how God used our trials and tribulations for eternal good. And we will thank Him for them.
Romans 4:16-20 states, “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Romans 4:16-20 is one of Dave Dravecky’s favorite passages of Scripture. You may remember that he was the star pitcher for the San Francisco Giants before having to have his pitching arm amputated due to cancer.
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seamed with scars; martyrs have put on their coronation robes glittering with fire, and through their tears have the sorrowful first seen the gates of Heaven. –Chapin
3) Nothing comes into the life of God’s children that does not pass through His hands first. God allows suffering to come into the lives of His children because He has some purpose for it. 1 Peter 4:19 states, “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” Suffering is part of the will of God. This may be a difficult truth to understand or accept, but it is still the truth. God will give us complete understanding of His ways when we get to heaven. Steven Estes who wrote “When God Weeps!” writes the following: “God’s plan is specific. He screens the trials that come to each of us—allowing only those that accomplish his good plan, because He takes no joy in human agony. Nothing happens by accident…not even tragedy…”
Quotes:
“To the child of God, there is no such thing as an accident. He travels an appointed way. Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way, but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evils only because we cannot read the secret script of God’s hidden providence and so cannot discover the ends at which He aims…The man of true faith may live in the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord. For him, misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility. He cannot be torn from this earth one hour ahead of the time which God has appointed, and he cannot be detained on earth one moment after God is done with him here.”
—A. W. Tozer
“Every sorrow we taste will one day prove to be the best possible thing that could have happened. We will thank God endlessly in heaven for the trials he sent us here. This is not Disneyland—it is truth.”
—Steven Estes (When God Weeps)
“If I love God, suffering does not ultimately matter. Christ in me is what matters. Pain does not cease to be pain, but I can ‘rejoice in suffering’ because the power of God in my life is greater than suffering’s vice-grip can ever be. I want to see the sculpture finished.”
—Joni Eareckson Tada (Quadraplegic)
Verses:
Hebrews 5:7-9 “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Romans 8:17 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
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