Years ago, I was inspired when I watched Gabrielle (Gabby) Giffords being interviewed by Diane Sawyer on a televised special.
Gabby, a former member of the United States House of Representatives, had represented Arizona’s 8th congressional district since 2007. She is married to former astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly.
On January 8, 2011, Giffords was a victim of a shooting near Tucson, at a supermarket where she was meeting publicly with constituents. She was critically injured by a gunshot wound to the head. Giffords was hospitalized and underwent life-saving surgery before being transferred to a rehabilitation facility where she recovered some of her ability to walk, speak, read, and write. On June 15th of that year, Gabby was released from the rehabilitation hospital to return home, where she continued her therapy.
Several things about this amazing woman and her journey stood out to me.
The first thing I noticed was her family’s strong faith. When Gabby’s mother was asked what her first reaction was to the news of the shooting, she said she heard a voice say: “Be still and know that I am God.” What a testimony. God immediately spoke to this distraught mother in His still small voice during a moment of crisis.
When Gabby was asked if she was angry, she struggled for words before replying, “No, life.” In other words, life happens, or as I thought about it, the Scripture that came to mind was: “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Gabby’s attitude and work ethic towards recovery were inspirational.
When going through tough times, it is always good to be challenged by a story of courage that helps us put our trials into perspective. That is what Gabby’s story did for me.
As I journey through life, I realize that trials, as unpleasant as they can be, are how God continues to refine us and make us into all that He wants us to be. Trials take us to the foot of the cross. Jesus, our ultimate example, did not want the challenge of the cross. He prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). Gabrielle Giffords did not ask to go through this traumatic experience, yet her story is used to inspire others.
When searching for an update on how Gabby Giffords is doing today, I was totally amazed by how far she has come. The following is an excerpt from this website. It truly is inspiring to learn how the Giffords have used tragedy for good.
On January 8, 2011, at a “Congress On Your Corner” constituent event in Tucson, Gabby was shot in the head by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 others. Gabby stepped down from Congress in January 2012 to focus on her recovery. As the nation’s eyes were upon her, Gabby embarked on a path to regain her ability to speak and walk, inspiring the country with her resilience and optimistic spirit.
In 2013, after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, Gabby co-founded the organization today known as Giffords. Over the past several years, the organization has been a leader in the national gun safety movement, making gun safety a kitchen table issue for voters. Giffords has helped gun safety champions win up and down the ballot in local, state, and federal races and worked hard to pass lifesaving legislation in states across the country and at the federal level. In July 2022, Gabby was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, a documentary from the filmmakers behind RBG, premiered the same month.
As she leads Giffords, Gabby continues to make remarkable progress in her recovery. She helps raise awareness about aphasia, the language impairment she has suffered from since her shooting. She enjoys spending her free time playing the French horn, biking, practicing yoga, and learning Spanish. That spirit of resiliency, perseverance, and courage is one that resonates around the world. It helped her overcome tragedy, work tirelessly to recover when the odds were stacked against her, and become the nation’s most renowned leader in the movement to end gun violence.
Susan Page is the daughter of the King, His beloved child, wonderfully forgiven and blessed! Susan longs to age gracefully, becoming more like Jesus as she seeks the hidden treasures revealed to her through Scripture, literature, the arts, humankind, and nature.