By Chandler Gerber
Each of us has certain talents and
abilities; that’s life. Some are good
with numbers, others are good with athletics, and some are good with
music. As I’ve gone through life, I’ve
always enjoyed writing and putting my thoughts on paper. However, I never knew how big of an impact
writing would have on my life.
I’ve gone through two life-altering car
crashes. The first, I was a victim in;
the second, I was responsible for. After
suffering major head trauma as a result of the first crash, I was counseled to
do some journaling as a form of therapy.
I began journaling and writing about my emotions and challenges and the
words continued to flow onto the computer screen. Miraculously, after extensive therapy, my
mental capabilities returned to their normal levels!
After the second crash, the one that I was
responsible for, I suffered with severe depression and anxiety after taking
three lives due to my carelessness behind the wheel. Again, journaling was recommended to me, and
it was very therapeutic. I started
writing about the experience, and although the season that I was currently in
passed, my enjoyment for writing remained.
I began blogging at chandlergerber.blogspot.com and I continued to write
about my story in my spare time. I teamed up with AT&T and their “It can
wait” campaign against distracted driving.
The “From One Second to the Next” documentary was launched on YouTube
and Netflix and has been viewed millions of times. Once the film went viral, opportunities
abounded. I appeared on the “Today”
show, spoke with Katie Couric, and was featured in an international commercial
promoting driving safety that can still be found on YouTube.
The icing on the cake was when Suzanne Woods Fisher, the best-selling author out of California, called and asked me to
be a part of one of her upcoming books, “The Heart of the Amish”. That opportunity landed me a position with
the Hartline Literary Agency and the opportunity to put an actual book together
about my experiences and how God used them to truly bring, “Beauty from Ashes”,
as the title of my upcoming book implies.
As I speak around the country to businesses, churches, and schools, my
message is clear: Don’t give up. Life
will undoubtedly throw you curve balls from time to time. We each have to learn
how to hit them.
We each deal with things at different
times. After the experiences that I’ve
had, I now speak on the dangers of distracted driving, forgiveness, compassion,
and perseverance because those are the topics that I have learned about
firsthand. I don’t have the college degrees that would be needed to teach on
these topics in a formal classroom setting, but as the old saying goes: “A man with an opinion is not at the mercy
of a man with an experience.”
For
some people, maybe they are creative and like to write fictional stories. For others, maybe rhyming comes
instinctively so they write children’s books.
I’m just playing the hand that I was dealt, and whether I like it or
not, God has me here so I’m going to show the world just how faithful He is.
Never give up!
___________________________________________________________________________
Chandler Gerber is a husband to Rachel and
a father to a daughter, Shiloh, and a son, Zander. He was born and raised in
the area around Bluffton, Indiana where he still currently resides with his
family. Chandler and his wife chose from the beginning of the chaotic time in
their lives that started in 2009, to stay positive, up-beat, and to ultimately
bring ‘Beauty from Ashes’. He has
spoken around the country on the topics of driving safety, forgiveness,
overcoming obstacles, and a variety of similar themes. Each of us has things in
our lives that are unexpected or tragic and Chandler has devoted his life to
showing others how to move through the valleys that life has to offer. He presents the same methods that he personally
used to cope with tragedy when he speaks and teaches. His life plans never
included speaking or being involved in the public eye, but God has a way of
using each of us as He sees fit. Chandler’s
blog can be found at chandlergerber.blogspot.com, his author’s page on
Facebook, and his personal Facebook page.
Connect with him and send him your thoughts!
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