LIVERMORE -- Even in the midst of
trouble, God can make good things happen.
Skeptics might not be so quick to dismiss this paraphrase
of an oft-quoted Bible verse after getting to know Sven and Elizabeth
Rafferty.
The young Manteca couple's Christian faith was tested last
year in a fatal car crash, and they say the resulting emotional and
physical hardships actually have deepened their trust.
"If you're truly seeking God, he does work all things together for
good," said 28-year-old Elizabeth, a tall woman with long flaxen hair.
Commute to
disaster
The Raffertys' lives changed in a split second on July 19, 2000, when
a big rig heading west on Interstate 580 barreled into their
Volkswagen Jetta.
At a standstill in the pre-dawn gridlock, the small car was "squished
like an accordion," said Sven, 31, noting that the impact of the
71,150-pound truck shoved the VW's rear license plate forward until it
almost touched the passenger seats.
In the back seat was the Raffertys' 26-year-old neighbor, Christine
Watts, who made the daily, 152-mile round trip with Sven and Elizabeth
from Manteca to their respective jobs in Silicon Valley.
Watts, five months pregnant with her first child, was killed
instantly.
Elizabeth, who also was expecting, escaped with a few cracked ribs, but
Sven was badly hurt.
A broken rib and arm, several cracked vertebrae, a bruised lung, deep
scalp cuts, multiple concussions and intercranial bleeding kept him in the
intensive care unit of Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley for nine days
before he was transferred to a Manteca hospital for another week.
When he finally started commuting to Palo Alto again, Elizabeth cried,
frightened that he would get hurt again.
Even 13 months later, she still gets anxious when Sven changes lanes
around big rigs. And he still bears physical reminders of the crash.
Sven can't hold his 8-month-old daughter, Katelyn, while standing for
more than five minutes without severe back pain.
His back and upper arm, where surgeons inserted a titanium rod,
probably will hurt for the rest of his life, he said, and headaches,
although infrequent, have lasted as long as four days.
And yet Sven remembers the physical suffering the Apostle Paul endured
and thanks God.
"A lot worse could have happened," he said. "I look at my back pain as
a reminder, 'You're alive.'"
The beginnings of faith
The attitude has a lot to do with Sven's decision to become a Christian
nine years ago.
It was a radical change: He had been an atheist when he and Elizabeth
began dating in 1992.
"She was worried about my soul," chuckled Sven, a spiky-haired Web-site
administrator with a radio voice and a couple of hoop earrings.
He scoffed whenever Elizabeth fretted that he was facing an eternity in
hell.
She wasn't a Christian either, but Elizabeth figured as long as she
acknowledged God's existence she would be OK.
"I really thought I'm a good person -- I'll be fine," she said. "I
thought Sven was in trouble."
She was pleased when he accepted her challenge to check out the
church she had occasionally attended, but she never expected him to take
Christianity so seriously.
That first sermon was all it took to pique Sven's interest, however,
and during the next few weeks he peppered the pastor with questions.
What about all the starving people in the world? What about the
neverending violence in the Middle East? How could a loving God allow such
suffering?
Unfazed by the tough interrogation, the pastor began showing Sven
Scriptures that explained situations like the long-standing enmity between
Jews and Arabs.
"He was able to answer every question from the Bible," Sven said.
As her husband began reading Scripture and listening to taped sermons,
Elizabeth grew increasingly anxious.
"I had seen this happen with my sister and her husband and I was afraid
I was going to lose him," she said.
The four of them used to enjoy going to beer festivals, but Elizabeth's
sister had changed.
She not only had lost interest in hanging with the party crowd, but she
also didn't enjoy talking about people behind their back or watching the
same movies, and she had cleaned up her language.
Once close to her older sister, Elizabeth now felt a distance between
them.
"It was just very difficult," she said.
Even so, Sven's questioning prompted Elizabeth to do her own soul
searching.
Until now, she'd been content to compare herself with others, Elizabeth
said, "(but) when I started looking at myself through God's eyes, I
realized I wasn't very good."
And a month after Sven decided to follow Christ, she did, too.
A lesson
emerges
Life was good.
In June 1999, the Raffertys moved to Manteca, where they'd bought their
first home.
Three other families from their Milpitas church settled on the same
street and they began taking turns hosting in-home Bible studies.
One of those neighbors was Christine Watts, who hitched a ride with
Sven and Elizabeth every morning to her job in Sunnyvale.
During the long commute, the trio often discussed Scripture verses and
listened to Christian talk radio.
Just two weeks before her death, Christine was telling Sven and
Elizabeth about a book she was reading on what believers can look forward
to in heaven.
Neither Sven nor Elizabeth has any doubts that their friend now is at
peace.
"We knew Christine loved Christ so much, so we knew she (is) very happy
there. We know she's not bummed."
But what earthly good can come from an accident that snuffs out one
life and badly injures another?
A deeper conviction that someone is listening, Sven said.
He's convinced that the countless prayers that friends, family and
strangers around the world sent up on his behalf saved his life.
"Being told that I should have died here, I should have died there ...
and on top of that, recovering so quickly -- (it) totally strengthened my
faith," he said.
He's less critical of Elizabeth now, Sven added, and the harsh reminder
of life's fragility has taught both of them to value every moment they
spend with loved ones.
What's more, Christine's parents, once uninterested in
discussing Christianity, have started asking Sven and Elizabeth about
what their daughter believed.
And when the Raffertys tell their story in public, people nearby
invariably eavesdrop, giving them another chance to share their faith.
"Even the worst possible thing that could happen to you ... God does
work (it) together for your good," Elizabeth said.
Staff writer Rowena Coetsee can be reached at 925-779-7141 or rcoetsee@cctimes.com.
