And then you have a night like last night....

Well, I was all set to do a whiny post about having "one of those weeks" when everything breaks at the same time (at our house it was the car, the washer, and my mouth!). Then, something very sad happened in our neighborhood last night that made me reconsider how "bad" I really have it.

Around 6:00 pm last night Jon and I were in our back room talking when all of the sudden we heard a BOOM! CRASH! Then our lights began to flicker & we heard the unmistakable crackle and pop of a transformer blowing up. We immediately ran to the back yard to check on the kids, then we turned toward our neighbors house and saw his back yard go up in flames. Jon yelled at me to call 911 & he hopped the fence to run next door to check on them. I quick rounded up the kids & got them inside just about the time we lost all power. I could see all the neighbors coming out of their front doors, but I stayed on the line until I got through to 911. That's when the 911 operator picked up and said "Are you calling about car accident on your street?". My first words were "NO...I'm calling about the fire in my neighbors back yard"! I didn't even realize yet what was going on.

What I saw next was in one word...horrific! No one knows how or why, but a young girl somehow managed to skip the "gully" (otherwise known as a trench for storm water), plow through a fence, flip her SUV, and hit a light pole before finally coming to rest. The end result was pretty ugly. Her SUV was on it's side, trapped under the largest portion of the broken light pole (it split in two!) with the windshield and roof bowed inward pinning her inside the car. My neighbor and I were the first ones to approach the car, and suffice it to say it was frightening to see this poor girl trapped! I won't go into all the details, but from what we could see it looked like the girl was alive when they got her out! Life flight landed a few blocks up the street & the police told us she was still alive when they got her to the helicopter.

It took all night to clean up the mess & when I finally went to bed at 1:00 am our street was still blocked off and glowing with emergency lights. What a night! It's times like these that make you realize that the "little stuff" like bills, car repairs, and whiny kids is NOTHING in the cosmic grand scheme of things. NOTHING! I went to bed feeling so thankful that I had my whole family tucked safely into their beds. This life is so precious, and I want to remember that every time I'm tempted to complain about the "little" things that clouds my vision.

Last night was a wake up call! As I watched emergency crews work to free that girl, all I could think was "this life is too short to obsess over the things I have no control over". I want this event to remind me that NOW is the time to embrace this life. NOW is the time to appreciate all the many blessings that God has given me. NOW is the time to remember that each day, each moment we have is a gift. 50 years from now I can guarantee you that this time of "struggle" we are going through will mean NOTHING! 50 years from now I probably won't even be able to recall the week that everything in my house decided to break at the same time. Nope! I won't remember those things because honestly...they just don't matter. I've got what matters right now...and I'm going to try my hardest to remember that this week :-).