Hi all. I shared this with family and friends today. It brought tears to my eyes looking back at this thread. I see the Holy Spirit in action with John sensing something wrong and then Prayslie and HH tracking me down. And then all your prayers even when you did not know what happened yet. Faith and Love in action. Mary brought me here years ago - she knew I would need all your prayers. Alyce and I continue to recover. And today we celebrate not just St. Maximillian Kolbe but also a woman we knew and loved so well- St. Maryellen. We remembered her at Mass and i asked her intercession for all of you. Tonight we will once again go to the vigil of the Assumption full of thanksgiving, gratitude and love for God who showed His immense love this year for me. His gift to allow us to embrace our crosses in union with His overwhelms me. Thank you all. God bless you. God is Good All The Time One Year Later: A Reflection on Gratitude, Grace & Hope One year ago today, my life changed forever. On August 14, 2024, my wife, sister-in-law and I were struck head-on by a drunk driver. In that moment, we lost my dear sister-in-law, Maryellen, and our family’s world was shattered. She was a constant source of joy, love, and connection in our lives. We miss her deeply, and our hearts remain with her family, whom we love and cherish. The crash brought pain, loss, and uncertainty beyond what I thought I could bear. It tested my faith, my family, and my resilience. Yet, in the hardest year of my life, I have also experienced the deepest graces and love. To my wife, Alyce – your courage, quiet strength, and steadfast love have been my anchor. You showed me what it means to keep going when the road ahead is steep. To our children – you stepped up with tenderness and resolve, carrying burdens no one should have to carry. You’ve reminded me that legacy is built in how we show up for each other when the world goes dark. To family, friends, neighbors, and our community – your prayers, meals, rides, and presence were not small things; they were lifelines. To the healthcare teams – you cared for us with skill, compassion, and humanity. You saw the people behind the injuries. And to God – my refuge and redeemer – You were with us in the wreckage, in the waiting, and in the long nights. You gave me hope when fear shouted loudest. We experienced Your immense Love for us This year has taught me: Healing is not linear, but love is constant. Forgiveness is not weakness, but freedom. Life is not about avoiding pain, but transforming it into purpose. We pray that this tragedy raises awareness that drunk driving has consequences and must never be tolerated. Today, we mark not just survival, but renewal. And we move forward with open hands, open hearts, and eyes fixed on the One who makes all things new.
I pray that Mary our mother will console you in your loss and that next year will bring you restoration. God bless Mary
I marvel at your perseverance as a wedded couple in the midst of trials; such a sign of matrimonial grace! More prayers for Maryellen.
The Good Lord was with you through it all.. May he bless you now continuously with his abundant grace Thank you miker, for your inspiring testament of faith.
What comes to mind is the noble example of mercy included in the generous terms of surrender offered to General Lee by General Grant in April, 1865 after 4 years of conflict: ...Grant quickly wrote out a rough draft of the terms of surrender, which had already been outlined for Lee in the letters exchanged over the last two days. The heart of the terms was that Confederate soldiers would surrender their weapons, equipment, and flags. Grant allowed Confederate officers to keep their horses, side arms, and other personal property. Aside from this, officers and men would be paroled and allowed to return to their homes, not sent to prison camps or otherwise disturbed by the United States authorities. Although Lee agreed to the terms, he asked if the enlisted men serving in the cavalry and artillery could also keep their horses and mules. Grant indicated that he would not amend the terms but would issue a separate order allowing it. Lee said he thought that this would have a happy effect on his army. He then raised the issue of Federal POWs in the Confederate camp, that his own army could not feed. Grant offered to bring these men across the lines and send rations to the hungry Confederates. When asked how many men he had left, Lee did not know. Grant offered 25,000 rations for three days, which Lee gladly accepted. Grant’s longtime friend and military secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Ely S. Parker, drafted the formal copy of Grant’s terms while Colonel Marshall penned Lee’s formal letter of acceptance. The two generals signed and then exchanged these two separate documents. The generals also agreed to appoint three officers from each army to act as “commissioners,” who could work out the details of the surrender (they would meet in McLean’s parlor the next day). By 3:00 p.m. the meeting ended with a handshake and General Lee left the McLean House to return to his camp. General Grant and his staff followed him out onto the porch and removed their hats as a respectful, farewell gesture which Lee returned in kind before riding away. While much remained to be done before the armies left Appomattox Court House, the Army of Northern Virginia, the most important symbol of the Confederacy, was no more; the remaining armies all surrendered by early June, bringing the bloodiest war in American history to a close without any further major battles. In the aftermath, the terms of surrender for the other Confederate armies were nearly identical to those of Appomattox.
You have great Faith Michael. It is a great grace to see great graces. I was just reading about St Jane Chantel this morning. Her husband was killed in a hunting accident and it took her three years to forgive her killer. She was also plagued by chronic depression and self doubt her entire life. She reminds me that it is not a sin or fault to struggle.
@miker Wow mike just beautiful. I am humbled by you and your wife's strength in carrying your heavy crosses your rewards will be great,yes you are right that its no coincidence that we all came to this forum I have said before I see this forum as a Simon of cyrene we are all simons helping each and other not always willing carry the load on the way to Calvary..funny how we are all connected something I never told you my wifes birthday is the 14th of August and my beautiful daughter rebekah whos singing and music you have admired was christened Rebekah Mary Ellen. It is without a doubt that we will always remember your sister in law every time rebekah plays at mass for her God.. This prayer fits perfectly here God bless you and your family Mike Simon of cyerene.... Heavenly Father, whose most dear Son, as he walked the Way of the Cross, accepted the service of Simon of Cyrene to carry his physical burden for him: grant us each the grace gladly to bear one another’s burdens, for the love of him who said, “As you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me,” your son Jesus Christ our Lord, who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.Amen
I continue to pray for you all and remember you today on 2nd anniversary of our crash. Some thoughts i had earlier in morning.. Two years ago today, on August 14, 2024, our lives changed forever. Alyce and I were struck head-on by a drunk driver. My sister-in-law Maryellen died that night. Alyce and I suffered devastating injuries, and for a time our children did not know whether either of us would survive. Two years later, I am still overwhelmed by the fact that we are here. I remain grateful for the police officers and EMS crews who refused to give up on us, the doctors and nurses who fought to save our lives, the priests who prayed over us, the therapists who helped us learn to live again, and the countless people who carried our family when we could not carry ourselves. I remain in awe of Alyce and the courage she continues to show in her own healing. I am also deeply grateful for our children, who have loved us, supported us, and carried burdens no children should ever have had to carry. They, too, are still healing. Last year, much of my reflection was about survival, gratitude, forgiveness, and the miracle of being alive. All of that remains true. But this past year, God has been showing me that surviving was not the end of the story. In many ways, it was only the beginning. For a time, I think I began to make the accident part of my identity. I became Mike, the man who survived the impossible crash. That will always be part of my story. My body carries the evidence of it, and my heart always will. But it is not who I am. My deepest identity is much simpler: I am a beloved son of God. I was His before the accident, in the wreckage, in the ICU, and when I took my first steps again. I am His today—in the healing that has come and in the wounds that remain. This year, God has also begun showing me that not all my wounds began on August 14, 2024. Some were present long before: my need to be in control, my drive to get everything right, my fear of disappointing others, my pride, and my tendency to measure my worth by what I accomplish or provide. Perhaps the accident did not create those wounds. Perhaps it stripped away enough of my defenses for me finally to begin seeing them. I am learning that Jesus does not want only the inspiring parts of my story—the survival, determination, gratitude, faith, and forgiveness. He also wants the parts I would rather hide: my fear, sadness, pride, sins, and need for control. He does not ask me to fix those things before coming to Him. He asks me to bring them to Him and allow Him to enter them. That is not easy for someone who has spent much of his life trying to stay in control, solve problems, care for everyone else, and prove his worth through what he could accomplish and provide. Even healing can become another project for me—something I think I should be able to understand, manage, and complete. Perhaps real healing begins when I stop trying to manage it and allow Jesus to meet me where I actually am. I still believe God spared my life for a reason. But I am less certain that I need to fully understand that reason. Perhaps my purpose is not to accomplish something extraordinary. Perhaps it is to receive the life I have been given, love the people God places before me, and learn to live as His son rather than constantly trying to prove my worth. I continue to pray for the young woman who caused the crash. Forgiving her remains one of the clearest experiences of grace in my life. But I now understand that mercy is not only something God enabled me to extend to her. It is also something I must be willing to receive for myself. Our healing is not complete. We still grieve Maryellen and the life our family had before that night. There are physical limitations, sadness, questions, and wounds that remain. But God remains too. Two years ago, I believed the great miracle was that I survived. Today, I believe a deeper miracle is still unfolding: I am learning that I do not have to be fully healed, have all the answers, or prove my worth. I am His son. I am forgiven. And I am loved.
What a wonderful post Mike. I am just curious I am sure you have all been praying and praying since this. Did you ever get a sense from God about why this happened? I mean God had and has a plan obviously, what it might be?
Your faith and courage in the face of all that has happened is amazing and inspiring. Just wanted you to know that.
Thank you, Padraig. I have thought and prayed about that question a great deal. Hard to find words... maybe one day we meet over a Guinness or two! But as i reflect, I hesitate to say that I know why God allowed it, especially because this was not only my cross. Maryellen lost her life, and Alyce, our children, and our entire family have suffered. I cannot claim to understand God’s full plan in all of that. But I do have some sense of what God has been doing through it. Before accident and much of my adult life, I had placed my security in myself—in being capable, being in control, solving problems, providing for others, and getting things right. I think the accident stripped those false securities away in a flash and showed me how self-reliant I had become. I always believed in God, but He was distant and a bit unapproachable for me. It was because I really thought I could only approach Him after i had it together and was "perfect ". But the accident revealed a God who was very close and loved me as i was - an imperfect sinner. I was lukewarm in my relationship with Him. The accident revealed that to me. I continue to work on that. I also believe, and I say this with humility, that God allowed Alyce and me to become signs and witnesses of His presence for our children and perhaps for others. We had always tried to share our faith with our children. But through the accident, God gave us the opportunity—imperfectly, and often in our weakness—to actually walk that faith in front of them. They saw us pray, struggle, forgive, fall, get up again, and continue trying to trust God when none of us understood what He was doing. And I believe I now see in each of them a deeper trust in God, even in the middle of their own trials. I pray with all my heart that as more difficulties inevitably come into their lives, something of what they witnessed in us will remain with them—not because Alyce and I did everything right, but because they saw that God did not abandon us. I guess ultimately my answer is i know God loved us through all of it. He never abandoned me. So I cannot fully answer why it happened, and perhaps I never will. But I believe God has used it to call me to deeper conversion—to become less self-reliant, to trust Him more completely, and to understand that my identity and security are found in being his beloved son. I am still discovering what that means and, honestly, still struggling to live it.
