The book of Acts describes a moment when Saul is walking down the road to Damascus and is blinded by God. Helpless and lost, he is given a new purpose. A greater calling. A new way to see the world.
Sometimes Craig Chavez thinks about this story.
While serving as a Cavalry Scout in Iraq, Craig and his infantry squad were approaching a village when he stepped on top of an IED and was blown fifteen feet into the air. Their squad medic found him covered in dirt and blood, wearing one boot and not much else.
He was quickly moved off the battlefield and medevaced to Balad, Iraq, where he had to be resuscitated back to life. From there he was transported to Germany, then on to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. His family was already waiting when he arrived, but no one recognized him. His body was swollen and wounded so badly his own brother did not believe it was him until they identified his tattoos. Craig’s body was badly scarred and burned from the ankles up. The outlook was grim. If he survived, the likelihood of him being blind and severely disabled was almost guaranteed.
The doctors placed Craig into a medically induced coma for four days. When he awoke, he was blind and did not know where he was or who he could trust. Throughout the following weeks, Craig found himself separated from reality because of the concussion and intense trauma he had experienced. He felt trapped inside of an endless nightmare while surgeons worked to rebuild his face. The images he saw during this time were too graphic and terrifying to endure. He tried to attack the nurse, so they strapped him down. He even attempted to escape, but fell and hit his head on the floor. While he suffered in darkness on the inside, on the outside, progress was being made.
Surgery after surgery gave the family hope that Craig would be able to walk again, and that he might be able to see out of one eye. His face was rebuilt by plastic surgeons, but right now it felt like mesh that could cave in if he wasn’t careful. The long road ahead meant learning how to walk. Learning how to eat. Learning how to be blind. When it came time to decide the look of his prosthetic eye, Craig asked the doctor if he could place the Purple Heart pin he received inside of the manufactured eye. The doctors made it work, and when he put the prosthetic inside the hollow left socket, there was a gold twinkle. A constant memory. All Craig wanted was to go back to Iraq.
Once he returned home, Craig started a new battle. His thoughts were consumed with violence and war, and most of his days were spent locked in a room with his weapons. Being close to guns helped him feel safe. Even normal. Every day he experienced the effects of trauma, including severe nightmares and paranoia that put a strain on the entire family. Eventually, the stress led to a daily routine of substance abuse that lasted for three years.
In a state of desperation, and with his marriage at risk of ending, Craig heard a radio program led by someone who had overcome addiction thanks to a relationship with God. Willing to try anything, Craig trashed his substances and visited a local church. On that Sunday he heard that salvation could never be lost. And for a man who had confronted every form of darkness, the slightest hint of light was a revolution.
Now when Craig talks about grace his face comes alive. He is overwhelmed by the goodness of God, and truly believes in the redemptive power of Jesus. Even though his vision is impaired, he sees more clearly than ever. Since his injuries and miraculous recovery, Craig has had the opportunity to encourage a wide network of veterans, revisit Iraq, and focus on being a good father to his three daughters (with another child on the way). The moment he stepped onto an IED on the battlefields of Iraq is something Craig considers a blessing. And now he understands that God rebuilt him from nothing. God saved his marriage and family. God gave him vision to see the world in a new way. No one else deserves the glory. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, God claimed Craig Chavez’s life for a greater purpose.
“When we think all hope is lost because of the trauma we’ve gone through, the journey we experience as fallen people, and the loss of friends and family through tragedy, there is hope in Christ. He is here, He was there. He is peace and He is faithful.” — Craig Chavez
