“I heard an explosion, and the explosion that I heard was that I stepped on an IED, an improvised explosive device. When I stepped on it … I didn’t know what happened at all. I knew that there was an explosion. And when I saw my Marines, and my corpsmen, my medic all surrounding me, and they’re trying to keep me alert. That’s when I noticed, ‘Oh, something happened to me.'”
On that Afghanistan battlefield, former Marine Sergeant Carlos Evans says on the “Hope for Your Marriage” series on Charisma News, he lost both of his legs above his knee, as well as part of his left arm. At that moment, he says, “I was dying.”
But his real wounds went much deeper. Airlifted out of the war zone, Evans received months of care in a military hospital in Washington, D.C. In the process, he became addicted to painkillers and, as he looked at his future, he says, “I was suicidal.”
As they share in their book, Standing Together, Carlos’ wife, Rosemarie, a registered nurse, became a key part of his recovery—but not only because of her medical training. After the couple returned to their home and their two young daughters, Carlos’ attitude didn’t improve. One day, things reached a crisis point.
“That day, I was ready to give up. I go to Rosemarie, and I tell her, ‘You continue with your life, and I’ll continue with mine,’ because I just didn’t think it was fair.
“And Rosemarie looks at me. She gets on her knees, and she stares at me, right in my eyes. And she says, ‘I love you for the man you were yesterday. I love you for the man you are today, and I love you for the man you’re going to be tomorrow.’
“And I kept telling her, ‘You can’t love me. Look at all my wounds.’
“And she told me, ‘That’s the difference between you and me. I don’t see your wounds. I only see your scars.'”
After Carlos asked what she meant, Rosemarie explained, “Well, when a patient goes inside a hospital room with an open wound, he sees the doctor. The doctor cleans the wound, stitches the wound. And as time goes by, it heals, and it becomes a scar. When I see you, I only see the scars, because I know who healed your wounds. And that is Jesus.
“I wake up with a miracle and go to sleep with a miracle every day,” Rosemarie told her husband. “Your daughters are not orphans, and I’m not a widow. And if Jesus is the center of our lives, we’re gonna make it through.”
For more of the Evanses’ inspiring story, listen to this podcast. {eoa}
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