Living as a quadriplegic

My name is Jasper and I live my life today as a quadriplegic. Before my accident in April of '09 I was a very active guy. I used to like to visit my daughters often, as well as a host of friends that I have. I used to love to accompany a minister friend of mine and we would go various places, various homes, hospitals, and special visits to friends and pray for them. I also had a job when I lived in Arkansas, and the job required me to be very active. You can imagine how I must have felt with my life coming to a sudden standstill. It was quite a blow for me at first, but slowly I began to adjust because I knew "why get upset over something I can't do anything about?" I'm a big believer that God will always place you where you need to be. He placed me at a very nurturing rehab facility and slowly with the help of the staff I began to feel like a normal person again. They taught me how to mix in with other people again. I learned that if you want the victory you do have to pay some dues. I love to attend my therapy sessions- they urge me to go out into society such as going to the movies, to the mall, and especially family visits. They taught me how to be a whole person again instead of a broken man in a wheelchair. So if you have some type of physical affliction, don't give up! You must press on towards your goal and remember, God always puts you right where you need to be and he gives you the tools to do what you have to do.

So my name is Jasper, and I am a quadriplegic. Have a blessed day.

God Loves You

TMy name is Jasper Matthews and I move around in a wheelchair.  I am a believer in God, a follower of Christ and it's so amazing to me sometimes the way things happen in my life.  When I sit back and think about it I notice the Lord placing me right where I need to be.  There's a Minister and we get together every Thursday and we sit and chat about the Bible or just things in general.  She invited me to her church and once a week her Pastor teaches and that's the day that I went.  I was well received with a lot of affection and his teaching was outstanding.  I really enjoyed it.  Also he has to get the prophecy.  I was very curious about what he might have to say about me.  As he began to prophesied he and his host of Ministers, it was really something to see.  They would touch these people and pray over them and most of them were so touched they would fall out, have dizzy spells for a while.  It was really something to see.  After he had prophesied over a number of people he came over to me and he said some things that really touched me and surprised me.  I am a believer and I believe that God works through the Preachers and Pastors that he's called so I don't dispute what the man of God has to say to me.  He said through my faith I would get up out of the wheelchair some day.  He said I will not stay in this wheelchair because God has work for me to do.  Then he surprised me further when he said I was going to preach some day.  But through it all I was telling myself that God puts you right where you need to be.  He puts you where you need to be so you can hear what he wants you to hear.  I know that God loves us and he wants only the best for us and don't worry because he has you right where you need to be even if it's uncomfortable.  Just sit still and try to hear what he's telling you.  That's the way he teaches you, through actions and words.  So don't forget he said he's with you always.  I'm Jasper Matthews and I believe. 

Do It For Someone Else

My name is Jasper and I'm a quad and I have a Minister who visits me once a week religiously.  I enjoy her company so much that I introduced her to my best friend who is also a Minister like she is.  And they came to visit me today and he brought my oldest brother who usually has a very hard time getting out to visit me.  I was really surprised to see him and my heart was filled with a lot of joy.  And the four of us sat and we just chatted and disagreed about some things as well as agreed about some things.  We talked about religion and current events.  It was a very spiritual like meeting and we all enjoyed each others company.  So as you go about your daily business I pray that you will think about that.  Visit someone you haven't seen in a long time or visit someone that you have never visited.  Sit with a senior and have a conversation.  You may be surprised what you may learn from them.  I guarantee you it will make the other person feel so good inside as well as yourself.  So do it for someone else.  This is Jasper.  Have a blessed day. 

God always places you right where you need to be.

My name is Jasper and I'm a quadriplegic. When this happened to me through my accident with my Jeep, it changed my life so fast I didn't know what to do. But through the help of my daughters, God guided me to a place called Special Tree. It's a neurological rehabilitation facility. I've been here just a little over 2 years and I've seen some wonderful things happen here. People that have been torn apart, bruised, and almost thrown away, with the help of therapy they lived to get their lives back in some sort of order. I'm saying this because if not you personally you may have a loved one that has been injured in some kind of way, and you may not know about a place like this, but this is right where they would need to be. Receiving therapy, guidance, support from the staff, and it'll all help you to get your life back together. I would like to believe that God guided my daughters to this place for me. I couldn't find it on my own, I couldn't move, so my daughters went scouting for me not knowing anything about a place like this. But God guided them here. If you have a loved one that's injured you may not come to Special Tree, but put them in a place where they specialize in head injuries and paralysis.

The New Year

Like a lot of people I look forward to the coming year.  Somehow it makes me feel that I'm starting my life all over again.  I don't make resolutions because most of us don't keep them anyway but I think that you should think differently with each coming year.  Plan some new things, plan a new vacation, make a goal to get a promotion on your job, get closer to family members or friends.  In other words, don't let one year be like the previous year.  When you have the blessing of seeing a new year come in it's like a blessing from God.  He's allowing you to get it right one more time.  There are so many different things, new things that you can come up with for the upcoming year.  It may surprise even you.  I'm a quadriplegic and I have plans for the upcoming year.  Do some new things, be outgoing.  I don't plan on letting my circumstances keep me from doing something new.  So think about it.  How do you want to live your life?  Doing the same thing year after year or do you want this year to be something different in your life.  This is Jasper and these are my thoughts. 

Christmas Day

Here it is again, Christmas day is upon us. I pray that all is well with your family on this day. I don't know what Christmas day means to you- to some I know it's a chance to go spend a day at your family's house, get drunk on free liquor. I've seen families have a very festive time. Everyone loving everyone, everyone getting along and thanking the Lord. I think of my own family during Christmas day- my girls whom I adore watching how they've grown. Remembering how I used to hold them close to me when they were babies, remembering how I used to just lay my baby on my chest and watch her go to sleep. Now they have babies of their own and it's fun to watch them too. They're loud, they're rude, sometimes they're cruel, but they're always fun to watch. Those are babies- those are children. Let them play and be who they are. So I just want to say have a happy and blessed Christmas day. Remember what Christmas is all about. It's not about gifts, it's not about you, it's not about your big car or even your family, you know it's about Him.

Thank you- this is Jasper and these are my thoughts.

Hats off to Special Tree

I would like to tell you about the place I live at. It's a neurological injury facility. I've been here now a little over 2 years and I want to speak about the staff. Whenever my friends visit here that's one of the first things they notice is the courtesy of the staff. I feel they do an outstanding job and in their eyesight the client comes first. If something goes wrong with the client they come running because they seem to take it personally if you're hurting. I know when I do things or something's going on with me man, word gets around, and they watch me just to make sure I'm ok. Now I'd like to speak about this beautiful building that we built for Special Tree. It's very lovely and spacious. I especially like the way they blended the colors of the walls and different things. It has a real homey feel and look to it. Once you come into the building you can tell there was a lot of thought put into this building. Judging by the furniture and other little things they have you can also tell money was well spent. and it's not only to make the client comfortable, I feel it was designed for the girls also. I could really appreciate a company like that who thinks about their workers and tries to improve their working conditions. So, my hat's off to you Special Tree. Keep up the good work, because there are a lot of people that need you.