KCBD, NewsChannel 11 Lubbock |Lubbock Man Loses Legs, But Not Hope, Thanks To The Power Of Prayer
It's been a trying time for Bonner Bennett ever since the road, he used to walk, took a drastic turn. "Some things happened that shouldn't have happened that caused me to lose the legs. I don't know that anybody ever told me, I just looked down there and they were gone," Bennett remembers.
But Bonner says during that time of uncertainty there was one thing that was always there. "When things happen like that, that are hard to get through and cope with, I think prayer gives you support because you can't do it by yourself. I spent a lot of time by myself, but I wasn't by myself. You're shocked, you're angry, but you've got to make a decision if you're going to be bitter or you're going to try to have a pleasant life. I made the choice to be pleasant," Bonner recalls.
And Bonner says in his weakest moment, his faith began to reveal itself. "The preacher and several elders from our church came and had a circle of prayer and that was the turning point right there, everything started getting better," Bonner says. "I know God answered our prayers, not just ours, but our friends' and family's. It's made a total difference in our life coping with things that used to seem important, aren't. When you don't try to do it all yourself, God's there to do it for you," Bonner's wife, Sandra, said. And with help of his faith, Bonner Bennett is able to see himself as a person, not with a disability, but with possibility. "First off, you don't think you'll be able to do anything and then you get more determined, and I've gotten a lot of strength through prayer. When there's things that you cannot do that you could do by yourself or with others. You relish memories of those, but then you make new memories by adapting and doing something else," Bonner says.
And in a situation where most might find themselves alone, Bonner Bennett has been blessed with a faithful companion always at his side. "It's really brought us a lot closer together and we appreciate each other a lot more than before. I don't take things for granted anymore," Sandra says. "Prayer helps you overcome man's odds. We can't do everything by ourselves. If we'd stay out of the way, God would probably have a lot easier time," Bonner says. And Bonner hopes to use his disability to open the minds of others. "Maybe once you get comfortable to know somebody with a disability, who knows, you might have a new friend," Bonner says. And if he could have his legs back for just one day, Bonner says, "I would go walking with her. That's about all. That would take up a whole day."
