By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
ALEXANDRIA – The first-born is always a special blessing to parents and, for Louis and June Charrier, Nicole is no exception.
Born Feb. 21, 1980, Nicole was a healthy baby girl, bubbling with excitement, and charming her parents, family and friends, alike, the Charriers said.
A month later, tragedy struck and her life dramatically changed. Some said Nicole “took a turn for the worse,” but not Louis and June.
June was a half-mile from their home, she told the Baptist Message, when she and Nicole were involved in a serious automobile accident. Momma escaped with minor injuries, but her daughter sustained a severe head trauma, causing her to go blind and leaving her with Cerebral Palsy-like symptoms: She was unable to speak, walk or eat without assistance.
Now at age 36, Nicole still is unable to do anything for herself. Yet, she has impacted a number of others for Christ.
Louis explained that Nicole requires in-home care, giving him and June the opportunity to share Christ with Nicole’s medical team.
Health professionals come to the house to tend to Nicole’s physical needs, he said, and they leave having received a Gospel presentation and attention to their spiritual needs.
Six have accepted Christ, he said.
“As difficult as it was to see our daughter not being able to do much, what it did is brought those people to our house to hear about the Gospel,” Louis said. “My handicapped daughter couldn’t say a word but she had a way of bringing them into our house to hear Jesus. Our house became a salvation center.”
Louis Charrier and his wife Jane spend time with their daughter Nikki at their home in Ville Platte. Doug Collier photo
Nicole has influenced the lives of her siblings, too.
All three have entered the medical field: One is licensed as a doctor, another as a speech therapist and the third as a registered nurse.
“It’s kept our family close,” Louis said. “They see how their mom and dad have committed themselves to take care of their sister. We made the sacrifice day after day to take care of her at home and offer that love and care.”
Nicole also has made an impact on the numerous congregations Louis has served, especially on members who had a handicapped relative.
“They know we understood their world,” he said. “That makes a huge difference in helping us build bridges because we have that instant connection.”
Their experiences have taught June and Louis four lessons from God: His grace is sufficient; be thankful for the little things of life; take life one day at a time; and, be a servant to one another.
“We take life one day at a time with Nicole,” he said. “It seems some days like there is no way I can handle this. But God’s grace is engineered and sufficient for that day,” he continued. “All God calls me to do is to attend to her on that day, and, trust He will provide strength for the next one.”
