Women Who Inspire: Abigail Duran, I am not my scars

This week, Christian Women Living would like to introduce you to young lady who overcame a horrific accident and become an inspiration to those who know her. She comes from a small town, but she has a huge heart for God and is on a pathway of sharing hope and faith with the young people who may cross her path. Meet Abigail Duran, a young lady who went from living a Christian life to living a life for Christ.

Cyndi Kay Green: Please give us a brief introduction to Abigail Duran, who is she and where is she from.
Abigail Duran: I am a 19-year-old woman who grew-up in Adair county but now I have an apartment in Fort Smith. I attend college at Carl Albert State College

CKG: Can you give us a summary on your journey with Christ — from the time you accepted Christ, to how you started in ministry.
AD: My whole life I was raised in church and I’ve always known Jesus to be my savior but in June 2019 I rededicated my life on my own terms.

CKG: For those who aren’t familiar with your story, please share with our readers.
AD: In November 2018 I was involved In a multiple vehicle car wreck . My vehicle was in between two other vehicles and because of that, my small vehicle was crushed from the front and back. This caused my car to erupt into flames with me in the driver’s seat.

I remember being in the vehicle fighting my way out punching and kicking any window within reach. I was about to give up, and I had started screaming, “God, please help me.” After three times a man suddenly appeared outside my window with a fire extinguisher. He told me to move away from the window, and the next thing I knew, he had smashed the through the window. I have no idea who this man was and to this day, I still cannot find him. Nobody else seems to know who he is or where he came from. So to me, he was my personal angel. When I did eventually get out of my vehicle, I had been burned on 35% of the left side of my body. The burns ranged from first to fourth degree burns. I spent 10 days in a medically induced coma where I was battling with blood clots in my large heart and extremely burnt lungs. Altogether I spent nearly two months in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries, and relearning how to do basic things. I had to relearn walking, eating, swallowing and how to have a normal schedule.

CKG: What was the hardest part of your experience?
AD: The hardest part of my experience was actually getting out of the hospital and going back into the real world because I’ve learned that just because my world stopped, everything else had kept going. I still had many open injuries that my mother was helping me take care of at home, but I was having to try and get back out into the real world. I couldn’t fit in my clothes since everything hurt too much. Getting back to living life afterwards, I have faced many people not knowing what to say to me. Some have even referred to me as: “the burnt girl,” “the one in the wreck,” and many other things. I know they didn’t think those statements were offensive or would even bother me, but that wasn’t who I was because I was still Abi.

CKG: How has your experience affected what you see/know as your ministry?
AD: Just like many other Christians I always struggled with a thought ”is this even real” but after experiencing God‘s mercy on my life I have no doubt my mind that He is real. He spared me and He rescued me from the inside of a burning car. I am able to continue my life as a normal teenager, because of that mercy; as a consequence, I’m so blessed because I have met so many other people that have led me to a be closer to Christ, as well as, helping others realize God is real. I was able to be healed from a massive blood clot in my lungs. My mother cried out for God to take her instead of me but He said “how do you think you love her more than I love her” and after that truth hit me I realized that God loves each and every single one of us so intensely that he’s the only one who will ever be able to show us that kind of love and it’s unconditional.

CKG: What has had the biggest impact on your relationship with Jesus?
AD: Many times I have reached out to Jesus when I was feeling anxious, or having flashbacks of some sort. I felt the comfort of His presence there. He has helped me realize that He didn’t cause this but He did get me through my wreck. Through my burns I feel like my story has inspired so many people to get closer with God. I’ve had so many people tell me that my story has inspired them and I’m happy God is able to use me in this way out of all of my family. I feel like it was meant to be me. That it was on purpose in a way because, yes my pain was severe, but I have no pain, which is pretty much unheard of after having those types of injuries. I am still confident in myself, and I still feel beautiful and I have lost nobody. Rather I have gained so many people that love me for being me. My burns do not define me but my burns do tell a story of who I can be.

CKG: If you could spend a day with anyone, no constraints, who would you choose?
AD: I would probably want to spend a day with my great grandma Ruby. She died before I could really have any memories of her. I always hear stories about my great grandma Ruby and how she was a phenomenal grandma to my mom, how she always made her feel special. Everyone always tells me how my great grandma Ruby was so loving, and that she loved how you’re supposed to love. They talk about how you could feel God all around her, and that she would always give you anything she could to make you feel welcomed. I just want to be like her, which may or may not sound silly, because I never really got to know her, but when somebody leaves that kind of legacy and carries on that much who wouldn’t wanna meet them. I always hear funny stories; stories about how she welcomed others into her home, how she was the sweetest woman, or the most beautiful woman and I would just love to hang out with her for a day.

CKG: What inspires you to press forward?
AD: My family has always inspired me to do anything I wanted in life and now I realize that I can. I have three nieces and two nephews and I want them to know just because you look different that you can still be beautiful or handsome. My niece Evangeline has down syndrome and I want her to know that she is always going to be so beautiful and that she is no different from any other kid. The way my nieces love each other so fiercely inspires me to continue to love every person I meet. Really just seeing my family begin to thrive in life has inspired me to want to keep moving forward and not let sunburns take a hold of me and bring me down in this life because I know I have a purpose and I want to find my purpose and fill it for God because I know it is powerful story and I am very blessed to have felt that mercy firsthand.

CKG: Who do you see as your mentor?
AD: I’d say my mother is my mentor because she inspires me every day. I know how strong she is and how much she’s had to go through because she keeps battling every day with different things but she has never lost hope in God. She raised me my whole life telling me I’m beautiful and that the confidence is in me and not what I look like. I do believe that because of her I am okay with how I look now with burns. I am still confident and I still feel beautiful everyday. My mother told me everyday for the past 19 years of life that I am gorgeous and I deserve love and I deserve everything. I am achieving everything that I want to be achieving. I love my mom and I’m so thankful that I have her.

CKG: What advice do you “carry in your pocket” and where did it come from?
AD: This phrase is pretty silly but it’s ”sometimes it be like that” and I know it isn’t grammatically correct and it doesn’t really make much sense. However, you have to realize you can’t always change everything you want to change. Living life day by day, trying to fix everything that you want to be fixed, you’ll never get anywhere in life; but if you just realize you can’t fix everyone’s problems then you can find happiness in the simplicity of life.

CKG: Where do you go to just be quiet in the presence of God?
AD: Every time I get in my vehicle I say a prayer that I will arrive safely at my destination as well as everyone else on the same highways next to me. I tend to pray the entire car ride because it brings me comfort and I forget that my wreck even happened. Now, I do still have anxiety and I do still get scared but I am working on it because I am still human. However, saying a prayer before, during and after driving makes me feel better because I feel like it is getting me to places safely. Therefore as funny as it is I would say being in the car alone is my place to talk to God.

CKG: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
AD: In five years I hope to just be living a simple life. I realize that all I need is a simple life because as long as I have love in my family and then starting my own family I think I will be so fulfilled. I’ll get to be able to witness my own children finding out who they are all while finding God for themselves as well. In five years I also hope I am helping other burn survivors because I want everybody to feel confident in who they are.

CKG: How would you encourage the youth of today?
AD: Anytime a little kid asks me about my scars I try to tell them that this is a result of somebody texting and driving and hitting me. I always try to make that impression on them because I hope that they also want to drive safely. I try to tell everybody that they are still beautiful and they deserve love no matter what anybody else is saying to them.

CKG: Is there anything else you would like to share?
AD: Being involved in that car wreck was not a bad thing. I have learned more about myself and my faith through this. I have been able to inspire so many other people to find God and feel the love that I have experienced many times. This car wreck has actually helped my parents get closer with God and made us all more patient with each other. When something this traumatic happens to someone you love so dearly you realize life is worth living rather than staying sheltered. All I’m saying is live your life and remember that God is powerful and merciful.

On behalf of Christian Women Living Women Magazine, I would like to thank Abigail Duran for allowing us to share her story with our readers.