Spins, Swerves, Recovery...

October 6, 2018

Glad to be alive and ramblin' this Saturday in October:

The first words coming out of my mouth yesterday morning were, "Thank you Jesus and thank you Graycie."

Spins and swerves..  Late Thursday afternoon I was headed from Hillsboro to Whitney for a quick visit with my friend, dinner with another friend, and to attend an evening meeting. I had just reached 70 mph and was sailing. There were two cars in front of me. (Thank God I'm not a tailgater!) In a split second I saw the second car slam on his brakes. Smoke was coming from his tires as he swerved to the right to avoid hitting car one who had stopped to make a left turn. As he swerved, his car began to spin and we were dancing on the pavement ~ I had no where to go. I stomped on my brakes and my car began to fishtail and smelled like burnt rubber. I avoided spin one and narrowly missed spin two. The driver of car two finally got his car under control and zoomed on down the road. Graycie, recovered from the swerves beautifully and maneuvered like a race car (she's a feisty old broad!). I was thankful that I had learned to drive on icy roads in Minnesota. I thought I was going to need to hit the ditch to avoid hitting his car but at the last second, I was able to straighten out and avoid disaster. Graycie smelled awful but I was singing, "Thank you Jesus for saving me..."

Recovery..  Life's like that isn't it? We never know from one moment to the other when a tragedy may strike or we're dodging bullets. We can do everything perfectly and still, accidents happen, we choose the wrong road, the weather grows wicked, we lose jobs, family and friends pass away, fires break out, we get ill, and on and on. I am human and get weary when trials come back to back asking my Father if I've pissed Him off. That's human nature. When that happens, I go back and read the book of Job ... "The Lord gave, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord."~1:21 That's sure a tough pill to swallow when you're at your wit's end.

All that being said, there are times when I wonder just how often the Lord has prevented accidents, saved my butt from bad decisions, opened doors where there seemed no possible way, and closed doors leaving me whining 'cause I didn't get MY way.  Ouch!!

Today..  I guess I could concentrate on the stupid driver in front of me and how he wasn't paying attention. I could concentrate on how close I came to meeting my Waterloo in a deep ditch. I could moan and groan about my sore neck, sides, and stress headache. I sure could, but I won't.

What I am doing is soaking in my claw foot tub, taking Ibuprofen for my aching neck and right side, and meditating on the beauty of life itself.  I am so grateful to be alive and kickin'.

Peace be still!

PS  I truly believe that every challenge we successfully conquer serves a purpose to not only strengthen our confidence and our ability to master future obstacles.