Barber May 23-24

It is hard to write about this weekend. A female rider and a corner worker did not survive the accident on Friday. It was a very sad day. Please pray for the families of these two dear friends.

Between tears and prayers it was hard to think of much else. I, as well as many others, prayed for the riders and the corner workers as they had to continue on with the race weekend. It had to be hard for the riders to go around that side of the track without thinking of their friends and tearing up.

Saturday's practice seemed to go well. Brett did not race that day. The day went by in sort of a blur as thoughts of Friday kept me praying and crying for the families that lost loved ones.

It was Sunday morning when Brett had to get back on the track. His first practice started out well with the first lap, but before he finished the second lap, he went down. I did not see him come back around and I knew that something was amiss. I had already been praying and had a peace that it was not going to be bad news. Don't get me wrong, I still had the "Mama worry" going on, but my faith was strong. He did mess up his R6 and had to work on it. He missed all his other practices. It did not help that it rained all morning long at the track.

Race time came and after working all morning on the R6, Brett was ready to race. He got on the track, went around for the warm up lap, and before he got back to the starting grid, the brakes locked up and the bike would not move. Thank the Lord that it happened during the warm up lap and not during the race. We are also thankful that Brett was behind most of the other riders. The corner workers quickly got Brett and his bike off the track, but that was the end of the race day for Brett on the R6.

He did race his Hawk later in the day in two different races, but did not place like he wanted to. During his second race, the rain began to fall again. Since he had race slicks on, he slowed down and he finish safely.

After what happened on Friday, Sunday was a day of great concern for me. I can only praise God for His protection of Brett. There is always a measure of fear when your loved ones are on the track, but you can only put your faith, hope, and trust in God.

Please pray for the riders and the corner workers! The corner workers work very hard to keep the riders safe to the point of risking their own safety. I don't know why the Lord chose to take the lives of the two this weekend, but I do know that He has a purpose. God never said that bad things wouldn't happen, but He promised us that He would be there for us when they do.

Brett still has a hard time with the phantom pains. We pray for the Lord to take away the pain and we know that He will, but we ask for your prayers.

Brett starts the next semester at Jeff State on June 1st. Please pray for him to do well in school.

Thank you for keeping up with the post. God bless you all.

Coleen