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Accidents, Blessings, and God�s Grace
By Kevin Lakey �05
As I reflect on my experience at Seattle
Pacific University, I remember something Professor of Moral and Historical Theology Rick Steele said in his address to the Class of 2005 at Baccalaureate:
�Before you take a decisive step forward
in your life, you should take a good hard look backward.�
I have to admit, looking back isn�t something
new graduates do best. In fact, we don�t use our �rewind� button much at all. Instead, we plow ahead, make plans, and ask ourselves questions: What am I going to do with my life? Will I get the right job? Whom will I marry?
But as I sat there, I felt challenged to take that long, hard look backward � to examine my past for nuggets of wisdom, value, and God�s grace. Here�s what crossed my mind:
Roughhousing. That�s what I was doing on May 20, 1999. I was 17, at home, in Kennewick,
Washington, when my friends and I were horsing around (what else do teenage guys do?). A shove here, a push there, and before I knew it, our playful wrestling match landed me headfirst on the living room floor.
�I can�t move,� I called out to my friends, unsure of what had just happened. �You�re lying,� they said, assuming I was just joking. �Stop messing with us.�
But I wasn�t bluffing; the lower half of my body was actually numb. Doctors later called it a �one-in-a-million� or �freak� accident. But in an instant, I was paralyzed � from the chest down.
My mind fast-forwards a bit, past the hospital
stay, beyond the months in physical therapy,
where I learned what do with my newly challenged body � and then I�m at SPU for the first time � in a wheelchair.
You can probably imagine
what was going through my mind as I looked at the campus: How in the world am I going to navigate those hills?
My wheelchair wasn�t the only thing that set me apart from other students on campus.
After all, no other incoming
student had his mother for a roommate. That�s right, Mom moved in with me. It was only for six months, until we could find a
permanent caregiver, but for a while,
it was me, Mom, and 40 other guys on the third floor of Emerson Hall. I pause, and allow myself a chuckle.
Friendship. That�s what I think of next. So many people cared for me and helped me in my transition to university life, especially my friends Ryan Brault �05 and Jamie Hudson �04. There are places on campus that are not accessible,
but my friends made sure I got anywhere � even if they had to grab hold of my wheelchair
and lift me up and down staircases.
I remember fighting for a worthy cause, too. I felt called to raise awareness about disabilities
at Seattle Pacific. I was interviewed by The Falcon, worked with Disabled Services Coordinator Sara Roberts Wetzel �99, and wherever I could, reminded my fellow community
members that �diversity� includes people with disabilities. I�m grateful to the University for the improvements made in my time on campus: a new lift system from
Martin Square to Marston Hall, and an
apartment building that is completely wheelchair-
accessible.
Affirmation. That�s a gift the SPU community
gave me, and I�ll never forget it. Last year, I had the privilege of speaking in front of more than 1,000 people at First Free Methodist
Church during the Thanksgiving communion
service. I had never told my story before in such a public way, so I didn�t know what to expect. But afterward, I never imagined
I could feel so affirmed by this community
� so loved. Then, an amazing thing happened: 2,500 of my fellow students voted, and I became Seattle Pacific�s 2004�05 Homecoming King.
That brings me to the present, and like many other new graduates, I can�t help but think about what�s next. My mind is a whirlwind
of questions � and uncertainties.
I think about where I�m going to live, remembering
that affordable and accessible don�t always go hand in hand. I worry about where I�m going to work, and whether the job will be fulfilling. My heart yearns to be in a dating relationship, too. Will God bring the right woman into my life? That said, I know I�ll be happy if I can use my life to help people feel empowered by Christ�s love, the way I have been.
Before he closed his address at Baccalaureate, Professor
Steele reminded the audience that �[we must] come to terms with our past whenever we are about to make a big step into the future.� And here I am � by the grace of God � at peace with the past and looking expectantly
toward the next chapter in my story.
I think the future looks bright.
Editor’s note: Kevin Lakey graduated with a degree in computer science in June 2005.
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