Now, where have I heard this story before?

Nathan's teacher's mother was in a severe accident last week.  Her seatbelt snapped, and she flew through the windshield.  As one might expect, her injuries were severe and life-threatening.  As it turned out, however, an old injury was conspiring to save her life.  Apparently this lady had suffered for many years with a couple of degenerative disks in her neck.  It was an injury that doctors had told her she would have to learn to live with the pain.  As a consequence of the degeneration, she had lost the full range of movement in her neck.  This loss of movement, as it turns out, actually saved her life.  Doctors told her she would have died when she snapped her neck, had her neck been able to move normally.  Because it could not turn any further, she simply snapped her neck.  There is no paralysis.  And her prognosis for a recovery is good.  Better still, she realizes that an old injury saved her life.  What seemed painful and, at times, debilitating prevented the forces exerted during the accident from killing her.  Hmmm.  Redemptive suffering which leads to life:  now where have I had this story before?

Peace,

Brian+