By Linda Knudsen

I stood outside the store, holding Nettie’s hand. My other arm was full of groceries, and our three other children stood close behind, waiting for my cue to move. As we approached a car that was backing out, I caught the elderly driver’s eyes to make sure he saw us. He paused, and I nodded, signaling it was safe for us to pass behind his Buick.

But just as we stepped behind him, the car began to move.

He thought he was pressing the brake—but when the car didn’t stop, he pressed harder. In an instant, I felt Nettie’s hand slip from mine. The groceries fell from my arms as I instinctively pushed against the car, trying to stop it, trying to shield my children—but it was too late. I felt the car roll over the top of her.

In a panic, I scrambled under the front of the vehicle. Nettie was pinned beneath the front axle, her little left arm twisted under the tire. Thankfully, I was able to free it. I pulled her close, pressing her head down against my arm, my hand scraping the pavement as I dragged her to safety—just in case the driver shifted gears again. I couldn’t move her far for fear of making her injuries worse. So I held her, cradling my two-year-old daughter beneath that car, waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

How could we have known that a simple trip to the store that afternoon would test our lives—and our resolve—so deeply?

Just a few weeks before the accident, my husband and I had attended a seminar. The speaker, Les McGuire, taught us about a powerful law that governs our lives. He said:

“Nothing we experience is fundamentally good or bad. Our ultimate success in life has more to do with how we think about a situation than the situation itself.” (1)

Even when a daughter is run over, life-flighted hours away, spending a week in the ICU and over a month in a body cast—even in that kind of pain—this law still holds true. Even if we had lost our precious child, it would have been up to us to choose how we saw it. Choosing to see our circumstances as good puts us back in control. What we focus on not only determines our immediate peace but also shapes our long-term success.

Now, I’ll be honest: seeing life as “good” didn’t come naturally to us. We needed a lot of practice. When nurses, doctors, grandparents, and friends said how awful the accident was, we had to speak up and say, “This is a good thing!” And then, almost sheepishly, we’d add, “We don’t know how yet… we just know that it is. All things will be for our good—even this.”

And what an empowering feeling that gave us. That mindset shift propelled us forward through the healing—both for Nettie’s body and for our family’s hearts.

Later, through the help of our dear friend Dr. Paul, we began to see the many blessings that came from this experience:

• We learned that we can do hard things.

• We now understand what it feels like to go through something traumatic—and we can help others through their pain.

• Instead of harboring anger toward the elderly driver, we feel compassion.

• Our community came together—we were surrounded by love and support as neighbors and friends rallied for Nettie.

• Others had a chance to serve: meals were brought in, sweet neighbor girls came to visit, and countless prayers were offered in our behalf. It turned many hearts toward God.

• We’re more cautious in parking lots now—more alert, more aware, and ultimately, safer.

• And most of all: we still have our Nettie. She’s with us—healthy, happy, and as strong as ever.

So this week, when you face something hard—stop and ask yourself:

“What’s good about this? What am I learning? How am I growing?”

I promise you, by law, that as you do, you’ll discover peace. You’ll feel hope. And you’ll create success—not just in your future, but right here, in your present.

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