I just finished a truly amazing book- “Mistaken Identity.” A few months ago, on Dateline I believe, we watched the story of the Van Ryn and Cerak families. After watching their inspirational messages, Jeremy bought me the book they wrote so I could read it. I literally could not put it down, and read through the entire thing, often teary-eyed, quite touched and blessed.
If you’re not familiar with their story- both families had children who went to Taylor University, were in a car accident together, and the victims were not properly identified…the Cerak family was told their daughter, Whitney, was killed in the accident, while the Van Ryn family clung to their hope as their daughter, Laura, fought for her life in the hospital. They stayed by her bedside 24-7 caring for her and praying over her. After 5 weeks, the therapist asked Laura to write her name…and she wrote, W-H-I-T-N-E-Y….the girls had been identified at the accident scene only by the purses lying next to them, and their identities had been mixed up. Family and friends had their questions about different features as they came to visit “Laura” in the hospital, but the doctors reassured them to expect her to look distorted after such a horrific accident. (You can watch here for the story as well, or here for a more detailed, 7 minute clip from Dateline, where Whitney and each family are interviewed). (It’s awesome what a great testimony both families have shared with the world and how God is glorified and made known through this story).
Mistaken Identity, written by both families, shares in much greater detail the events of those 5 weeks and beyond, and the Lord’s awesome, powerful hand on each of the families throughout their journey.
Here on some verses meaningful to each of the families in their time of hurt:
Psalm 27:14- “Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord.”
Psalm 33:20-22- “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18- “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
And Laura’s favorite verse in bold: I Peter 1:3-9- “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kids of trials. These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are reveiving the goal of your faith, the salvations of your souls.”
The faith of these families is unwavering. At her sister’s funeral, Carly Cerak read, “Death is Satan’s greatest way to attack the world. Amazingly, God takes what Satan uses to attack us and uses it to bring us together and reveal himself the most. Through Satan’s greatest strength, God’s power still overcomes and is stronger.” Also, “God is still a good God, and his promises are true. I will see Whit again. And these are not just things I say to get me by and to cope with my pain. I know the living God, and I will worship him next to my sister again someday.”
Upon learning that the girls were misidentified and it was actually her sister, Laura, who died in the accident, Lisa Van Ryn wrote on the blog they were using to update family and friends, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What may come as a shock to us does not shock the One who made us…we met the Cerak family and were able to share with them some of the great things we have seen Whitney accomplish over the past month…It is a sorrow and a joy for us to learn of this turn of events…we will mourn Laura’s going home and will greatly miss her, while knowing she is safe and with her King forever…we rejoice with the Ceraks, that they will have more time on this earth with their loved one.”
And months after the accident, from Whitney’s first blog entry: “Never will I leave your; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”…Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. “When I found out five other people were killed in the car accident, I was really sad. I don’t know why all this happened, but the only good thing about all of this is that the message of God was heard in a powerful way. God has taught me He is faithful…I’ve had to trust God in a way I never had before…God gave me a desire for Him that I never had before.”
Wow…despite circumstances, God is the same, He does not change, and He will remain faithful. The story of these families not only encouraged me in my faith, but challenged me in my personal walk and the way I respond to adversity. I long to trust in Him in a way I haven’t had to before, and pray that as I face hardships, my faith will be strengthened and people will come to know Christ through my actions…
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO READ THIS BOOK, I WOULD LOVE TO LEND YOU MY COPY!!
Wow!- this story is interesting. Thank you for the Bible verses. I believe that Satan does truly try to use death and horrible circumstances so that we will turn from God.
With my dad being in the hospital for 160 days now, it is good to know that God is always there no matter what and he will never leave us or forsake us- that goes for the people in the hospital and out of the hospital.
I’m glad you enjoyed the book. It is neat to hear how God works through the unthinkable situations.
Truly an amazing story, but the most amazing part is how the families handle the situation with such grace and love. They were on the Oprah show and the way they showed their love for God and not ashamed to show it was awesome. I have great respect for the families.
Sentimentalism says : I absolutely agree with this !
I read this book and was also truly amazed at the faith and strength of spirit that both families have. They praise our Lord so openly and never once turned their backs on their faith despite the hardships that were thrown their way. I wish my faith were as strong if I were to be tested in such a way but their story has given me a renewed interest in my faith and I thank them for sharing thier story with us.
This is an amazing story, I just watched it on dateline 8/8/08. I was so touched by both families and the way they supported one another in this tragic time. I am going to go out and buy the book. My heart goes out to both families and I will continue to pray for the Van Ryn and their loss and give praise to the miracle that the Cerak family received. God does work in so many different ways. I was so touched by both families and how they handled this situation. May God Bless both families