I often substitute teach at a Christian school in St. Louis. It turns out that my book, Mile Marker 825, is on their "suggested reading list." Pretty cool, right?! Anyway, I love subbing there, and have gotten to know a lot of the students. Recently, one of the middle school kids wrote an essay on my book, and I saw a copy. My eyes watered while reading it... literally. It's stuff like this that make me not care that my book is never a NY Times best-seller!
I hope this 7th grade girl's essay encourages you too.
I read the book Mile Marker 825. I don't even know where to start. I was taught so much, and
brought closer in my relationship with God. Jason D. Mirikitani is the author of this book. In his
book he shares his tragic story of a car accident, where he suffered terribly and cracks his head
open. He suffered with brain injuries and his wife past next to him. Their daughter Abby wasn't
hurt at all, and Jason's family continues to praise the Lord for her. I have heard Jason tell his
story multiple times and every time it hear it I am so moved and drown my self in tears. As I read
his story he gets more in depth with the tragedy, recovering, and life after.
What shocked me was that through all of this being the strong christian he is, Jason
continues to have faith in God. For me this would be so hard, I would question God's reasons for
things. Jason helped build my trust and faithfulness in Christ. Seeing what happened to Jason and
the way he let it affect his life in a positive way made me think of my life.
I realized that if anything were to happen to me, instead of giving up hope I should find
things to thank the Lord for the small things he gives me. God blessed Jason with a supporting
family and loving friends. They were always there for him, and without them it would be much
harder to stay strong. Jason knew God had a plan for him, and he doesn't get upset or mad about
what happened in that accident. Instead he uses that to bring others to Christ.
Jason could have been really mad at God for taking the life of his young wife Jill, but he
knows God had a specific reason. That doesn't mean he never misses her, or doesn't think of her,
but he doesn't let that bring him down. Now Jason has a new wife and a very happy christian
family. They understand what he went through and are always there for him. Jason is a happy,
funny, successful grown man. If you saw him today, you would never think that he had a tragic
car accident years before.
It is a miracle that he is alive today, but God knew that Jason would stay faithful and
blessed him. Jason even had a doctor named, dr. Angel! Tell me that's not amazing! I am so
happy that Jason shared his story with me because now I can spread the word of God's greatness.
God was with Jason when tragedy strikes, and he will be there when we have things going on in
our life that trouble us.
No one knows what's coming next but God knows. I sometimes ask God, "why did you
let me be adopted? I was happy with my family. Sure they made mistakes, but you could have
made them stop and we could be together. Nothing good will ever come of it, all that it does is
make me sad and miserable." Then when I read Jason's book he taught me that God allows things
to happen so that even better things would come of it. Things may seem confusing and sad right
now but God will stay with you through it all, he understands, and he knows how you are
feeling.
Jason is a great example. If God would have let Jason die, I would have never gotten this
close to Christ in my relationship. Lots of people would never think of how good the Lord is to
us. Jason made a big change in my life, and I loved his story. There are so many things he talks
about besides his accident that can impact your life. I feel like God talks right through Jason to
let us know how good he is. He truly is good, and loving.
