Thankful for Life

Brett and I have been going through a lot of unfortunate events lately. Times have been really trying but we are very blessed and know that God is always there, probably far more than we realize.

As you can see I was involved in a terrible accident. I had been home sick one day, but I had to take Brett his backpack which he had left in the car that morning so that he wouldn't have to carry it around at the career fair that day. So as I was driving to the career fair a pickup truck pulled out in front of me in the middle of an intersection and we collided head-on. I learned just how well seatbelts work in that instant. Thankfully the airbags deployed too. 

I remember trying to see through the haze of the wreckage and smoke from the airbags. My first instinct was to park the car even though it was already at a dead stop. My face and hands felt like they were on fire and my head hurt so bad. I looked down and my hands were burned bright red from the airbag. A man was at my side and asking me questions about where I was and what year it was. My brain felt like it was in slow mode and it was hard to take everything in. I heard someone say my car was totalled.

Paramedics came soon and put a brace around my neck and then lifted me out of the car and onto a stretcher. They strapped me down tightly against the hard backboard and wheeled me into an ambulence. I looked up and saw the beautiful clear blue sky and I said a quick prayer of gratitude that I was alive. By that point my body was shaking with shock, even though I felt completely calm. I knew I was in the best care and I wasn't scared at all.

At the hospital I was examined and then I got to borrow a phone to call Brett. Brett called a friend of ours and she came and sat with me in the ER. After the police came to get a statement from me I was released. Our friend and I picked up Brett and we went to the tow garage where they had taken my car. That's where the picture above was taken. As soon as I saw it my knees almost gave away. I couldn't believe I had come out of the wreckage alive and unbroken.

Fortunately, I was immediately cured of whatever virus I had because after the whole ordeal I didn't have any more symptoms; but it's been hard to feel normal again. I guess you can say it's been a life-changing event. The scariest part was that I really did come very close to sudden death. I don't think that I'm scared to die, but I'm scared to leave behind those who are dear to me and to leave them in a state of grief where I would not be there to comfort them. I'm scared that perhaps I haven't done all I can in my life to use my time here to achieve the fullest potential possible of me.

Our car can be replaced, the things we lost can be replaced, but in the end they don't really matter anyway. I'm thankful for my life, my family and friends, for freedom, and for knowledge. I hope that I never lose sight of the things that matter most.