Cherish Each Moment....

Some of you may or may not know what has happened to us this week. Jason and I were to leave for our trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning from Philly airport but as we were headed up to Philadelphia on Tuesday, to drop off Emma and Aubrey at my sisters, we were involved in a very serious automobile accident. We left during a torrential rain storm and hydroplaned on Interstate 40 in Burlington, NC where we side-swiped an 18 wheeler on a busy highway. God's hand was upon us every second of those tragic moments and He allowed certain people to be there and situations to occur. This is what happened:

We were traveling on a four lane highway and we were in the lane second from the left - on the far left was a cement wall/divider. One moment we were laughing and enjoying one another's company and the next we were thrown into the spin of our lives. At first the car spun towards the wall and then Jason pulled us away which then spun us 180 degrees to the right where we were head-on, face-to-face with traffic. All I remember seeing was a big white semi headed right at us while we slid into his lane. As Jason was trying to turn us out of the trucks lane, Jason's door scraped the trailer and then the rest of that side of the vehicle smacked against the truck which then spun us back around another 180 degrees where we were facing forward. Jason looked in the rear view mirror and saw that the back window was blown out. Traffic was headed straight at us so he gunned it to the side of the road. It's amazing that we not only survived but that we all walked away unharmed. Jason said he felt our van starting to tip just before we hit the semi and it was actually the truck that protected us from what could have been much worse. Had we tipped and rolled....I shutter to think at what the outcome would have been. (Sigh) GOD IS GOOD!!! He allowed the semi to be there at just the right moment!

Right after we pulled over another vehicle pulled over to check on us. The truck driver stopped as well but further down the road once he was able to stop his vehicle. As the woman (Paige) approached our car, Aubrey gave her a big smile, a wave and a happy "hiiii." That's our happy-go-lucky girl! The first thing Emma said after we pulled over was "Is our car broken now?" That's the mind of our 3 1/2 year old who brought a quick snicker to a stressful situation. God allowed their little minds to be unaffected by the accident as well. Emma is just young enough not to fully comprehend what happened and what could have been.

Paige was a God send as she sat with us the entire time and allowed her vehicle to be our source of shelter as our van had shattered glass everywhere and no windows to block the incoming down pour. Paige was actually on her way back from a doctor's appointment that was scheduled for the next day. She had mixed up the dates and was initially annoyed but little did she realize that God had her there for a reason...to help our family. No one else stopped so we would have been outside in the rain waiting for an hour.

Then, as the tow truck driver came to help me shift some stuff around the car before he towed it (I was trying to move the kids clothes so that they would be somewhat protected from rain pouring in the windows) he noticed Emma's doodle board laying right by her car seat. This is what he saw....

Shortly before the accident Emma was having me draw some pictures for her. First she said "Draw Jesus and the children." Then she handed it back to me and said, "Draw Jesus on the cross." That was the last picture I drew only moments before the accident occurred. The tow truck driver pointed to the doodle board and said "That right there is the answer." I hadn't even realized it was there until then. I smiled with tears in my eyes and said "You are absolutely right." In that moment, seeing that picture I had drawn, brought me instant comfort that He was there the whole time and that we would all be okay.

After the police reports we're taken, Paige drove the kids and I a mile down the road to the next exit while Jason followed in the police car. We parted ways at the rest stop and we were on our own. Jason was still "technically" working so he had to field some phone calls for work, call the insurance company, rental car places and try to figure out what our next step was. After four hours and no rental vehicle in sight, we opted for a taxi and to stay overnight in a hotel with the hope of figuring out a way back home the next day. The taxi driver was a young, single guy and when he took us to our van to pick up what stuff we could take with us, he chatted with Emma in the taxi while Jason and I rummaged through the van. Surprisingly, she was not very shy and amongst other things, she told him how much she loved Jesus and how He protected us. It warms a parents heart to hear a complete stranger tell you how touched they were by your child's unashamed love for the Lord and said that he can only pray for the same when he has a child one day.

That evening, as we sat in the hotel wondering what the next day would bring, we received a call from one of our good friends who offered to come pick us up. We arrived back in Charlotte on Wednesday around noon and our normal daily life resumed...at least for the most part. Since we are without a vehicle (other than Jason's which he is using for work), the kids and I are hibernating at home. Jason will get what groceries we need for the time being and Emma's preschool and dance class will be on hold for now. We should hear back soon about our van and whether or not it will be fixed or totaled. Right now, the adjuster is thinking it can be fixed which is what we are hoping.
What truly matters is that we are safe, we are healthy, we have a warm bed and house to stay in, food to eat....life doesn't get any better. I feel so blessed with what we have. God has given us ALL we need.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God has a plan for our lives and while we are only able to see a little glimpse at a time - God sees the full picture. Good and bad...every situation and circumstance we are given can bring us closer to our Father if we let Him; and every situation and circumstance can mold us into the person He wants us to be.