also know as
"WAKE ME UP WHEN SUCKTEMBER ENDS"
again
WARNING
This is not a feel-good, light, funny story. There’s no way around Sucktember. So here it is.
SUCKTEMBER
-Renee
His last words to us were, “I love you guys.”
I woke up on September 14, 2006, and as it sometimes happened, Andy, my husband wasn’t in bed. I went to the couch to wake him up, but he wasn’t there. My heart started an awful, heavy thudding.
I went upstairs to his den, where I found the door closed. I called his name and tried to open the door, but it was blocked……
and I shoved my way into a nightmare.
Andy, my hilarious, hard-working, 36-year-old husband, was lying face down on the floor. His body was the obstacle. I screamed his name and shook him…his skin was cold.
I ran downstairs for the phone and couldn’t find it. I ran back upstairs, and it was beside him. I called 911…I said, “I think my husband is dead!” The operator asked if I could do CPR, but I couldn’t turn him over.
I ran downstairs to unlock the front door and heard Mason, our just-turned 3-year-old, call for me.
I called mom and dad. A kind neighbor came over, and I put baby Mason in his care.
Firetrucks, first responders, Chaplains and Andy’s cousin was the first family to arrive. I sat on the floor in the corner of the kitchen sobbing.
The rest is a blur. My child, family, friends, and co-workers saved me.
I grew up going to a Baptist Church every time the doors were open but had no real relationship with Christ. Through the Grace of God, I became involved in a “church plant” (I had never even heard the term).
Mason and I were part of a 12 person launch team of a new church called OneLife.
This SUCKTEMBER OneLife celebrates its 10th Anniversary! With three, soon to be four campuses and over 1,000 people attending every Sunday!
September will always be SUCKTEMBER to me..
But good/great things are also celebrated that month!
- OneLife’s Anniversary!
- Baby Mason’s Birthday!
- And FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!
(Andy Adams LOVED his VOLS)!
Love,
Renee Battle Adams Shockley