Neah Bay, WA
Cast All Your Cares on Him for He Cares for You
by Winston Wilson (Cowlitz)
Ministry Staff
I awoke to the terror of intense pain throughout my entire upper body. Our Honda Civic thrashed through the brush for what seemed to be an endless bruising ride. My first thought was, “Oh no, Connie fell asleep at the wheel!”
It had been a busy weekend. The weekend had started out with the excitement of cleaning up around the home that we had just bought. I had spoken a few hours earlier at Makah Lutheran Church, filling in for our pastor. The worship service had gone very well. We were excited as we were stepping into a larger role within the ministry team at our church. It had been a little less than a year since we had started to drive the sixty five miles out to Neah Bay on Sundays. Due to the busyness of the weekend and just being tired after sharing with the congregation, I asked Connie to drive home. I instantly fell asleep.
The weariness of the weekend finally caught up with my wife as we were about twenty minutes from home. The road had been straight for several miles. Sadly, at the next bend in the road, Connie drifted momentarily off to sleep. The cruise control was set at 60 as we went off the road, slowing through brush and dirt, and then launching into a Douglas Fir tree. Our car spun around coming to rest in the opposite direction from which we were traveling. We were both in excruciating pain. I remember the fear that gripped my heart as Connie told me she couldn’t move her legs.
Connie fractured a bone in her back, I fractured four ribs, and experienced severe whiplash. The accident happened January 31 of this year. Recovery has been a long, slow process. Connie was in a body jacket for three months and is recovering very well. Thank God she was not paralyzed in the accident.
Makah Lutheran Church has been so loving and supportive through our whole ordeal. Connie’s first Sunday in church after three months of painful recovery was so touching. The congregation welcomed her back with a traditional brushing off ceremony. I have to say that it was one of the most moving ceremonies Connie and I have experienced.
A Makah Brushing Off Ceremony has rich significance. It is performed for those who have gone through a tragic event. It is a way of brushing away the emotional scars, and the affects of the painful memories. The New Testament counterpart would be found in the admonition in 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Steve began a prayer chant in the Makah language that asked the Creator to come and be with us. As he was praying he was also shaking a prayer rattle which isn’t simply done for affect, but is seen as something like a lightening rod — meant to draw attention to the prayer. He then took an eagle feather fan to sweep away the pain and then with a shake of the wrist, would shake the pain in the hands of the Creator. Eagle down which is symbolic of purity was then placed on us. Finally we were wrapped in a blanket which communicates that we were being wrapped afresh in not only Creator God’s love, but also in the love of our faith family. As we were being wrapped in the blanket, people in the congregation began to say “We love you. We love you.”
Tears were rolling down both of our cheeks. The ferns are then taken out and burned, symbolic of a total consuming of all of the anxiety and pain that would in any way hang onto us. It is performed not only for the sake of those directly hurt by an event, but also for the benefit of those who are there as part of the faith community. It is meant to bring a sense of closure for both the hurting person and their entire support family.
Both Connie and I were profoundly moved and touched by the care and love of our Makah family. We feel so blessed to be a part of this ministry, both our local church and Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots U.S. Thank you for your support.