My Own Personal Story, for the benefit of the Community

This was originally shared on a Facebook page I admin, however based on feedback I feel like there are many who may benefit from my perspective gained through this experience. This isn't meant to start a discussion on religion, but it may be of help to many of you who are/or have gone through a rough experience.

"There comes a time in everyone's life where you realize you need to change the way you're living. Whether you see it as God, the universe, or just circumstance changing your direction it is rarely a forgettable experience.

Six years ago today I had mine. I'd been home from Iraq a year, and I was pissed off at God, the world, and everything in it. I was living for me and no one else, and nothing else mattered. My personal reckoning came in the form of the dump truck hitting me head on while riding my motorcycle home. I was awake every moment, alert and aware of what was going on around me. I was also aware that I was alive, and that this was my reminder of how important life is....and how wrong I'd been living mine. God's wake up call was real, and I got the point.

Four fractured limbs, a partial lung collapse and over $750,000 of medical care later I walk around with titanium rods in both of my legs and steel plates in both of my arms. The scars sometimes attract questions from curious customers or children. I no longer live life for me. Every day I wake up is a chance for me to do something good in this world, and I'll never forget that until the day I finally die. That accident has shaped the path I've traveled since, and every good thing in my life I can credit to it. Amazing how the worst of events can save your life and make you into the man you should have been all along."