hit by a car

One Second and One Year Later

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

dontwalksign

“What was intended to tear you apart, God intends it to set you apart. What has torn you, God makes a thin place to see glory” (Ann Voskamp, The Greatest Gift).

I just realized today that it’s been exactly one year today since I got hit by that car. And for those who weren’t keeping up with my blogs or my Facebook posts then, I got hit by a car. FYI.

I was crossing the street in downtown Franklin, ticket in hand to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I didn’t look both ways before crossing and stepped in front of a Ford Mustang. Hey, I only get hit by the finest American-made vehicles.

I actually only got side-swiped. It was enough to knock me down and to take off the side-view mirror of the car.

I felt worse for the young girl driving the car than for me. She was so apologetic and remorseful. And it really wasn’t her fault. I was the one crossing where there wasn’t a crosswalk, walking without looking.

Even now, it’s easy to wonder what would have happened if I’d waited one second. Just one second.

I’d have seen that movie. I’d have skipped a few hours in the ER. I’d still have roughly $1,600 in my pocket.

I’m sure you’ve done that.

Maybe it’s a word or a phrase spoken in the heat of the moment out of frustration or anger.

Maybe it’s a bad decision made in haste or out of desperation or anxiety or exhaustion.

Maybe it’s the friendship you ruined or the family member you drove off with an insensitive remark or unkind word.

Maybe it’s one false step on a slick spot in the garage or on a slippery patch of ice on some stairs.

You wonder what it would be like if you could just have that one second back to do over.

I know two things: 1) if you could go back, you’d erase every good thing that’s happened since, and 2) you can’t go back anyway (at least not without a 1985 DeLorean or some other time-travelling device).

What you can do is:

1) Be thankful that you’re still here and that you’re still alive and blessed with life and friends and comforts and (best of all) God Himself.

2) Remember that God can turn even the worst moments of your life into stories worth hearing, stories that make people want to know more about your God.

3) All really and truly is grace (something I borrowed from Ann Voskamp). Nothing that happens to you is in vain or needless. God works everything– and I mean EVERYTHING– together for your good and His glory.

I finally got to see that movie. My finger looks a bit funny but it still works. I look both ways EVERY time before crossing the street now. Life is still good, God is still great, and I am still very much blessed.

Things I Love 32: Everything Will Be Fine in the End

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

island hammock

“The prayers we weave into the matching of socks, the stirring of oatmeal, the reading of stories, they survive fire” (Ann Voskamp).

“I don’t really want more time; I just want enough time. Time to breathe deep and time to see real and time to laugh long, time to give You glory and rest deep and sing joy and just enough time in a day not to feel hounded, pressed, driven, or wild to get it all done-yesterday” (Ann Voskamp).

The way I figure it, I have only two of these left. Then again, I was never good at math. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be a rebel and add one extra just for the fun of it. Why stop at 1,000? Why stop at all? Gratitude means you never stop counting your blessings that you become aware of as you number them one by one. So that said, I start again at #936.

936) Making my triumphant return to swing dancing tonight at Centennial Park.

937) How anyone who has ever worked in a corporate environment can relate to the movie Office Space.

938) The Greek on the GO! Strawberry Granola Bites. You can’t have just one. Or at least I can’t.

939) Whenever my family gets together.

940) That I’m losing my mind and as long as I don’t lose the part that tells me when to pee, I’ll be just fine.

941) Reading The Horse and His Boy again for probably the 15th year in a row.

942) Having “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” as my new text and email alert on my iPhone.

943) Mild summer days with low humidity.

944) Having my only expectations be that God will keep all His promises to me.

945) The Dream of someone.

946) Using Inappropriately Captalized Letters At Random.

947) Having access to the Throne of Grace 24 hours 7 days a week.

948) Sometimes my only mode of transportation is a leap of faith (borrowed from a Facebook post).

949) That I don’t have to fire cannons to call attention to my shining; all I have to do is shine (from D. L. Moody).

950) Borrowing quotes and ideas from people on Facebook.

951) Being able to highlight verses in my YouVersion Bible app on my iPhone.

952) Having all my Christmas music on my laptop in case I ever feel the need for Christmas in July (or August).

953) Office chairs that swivel and spin.

954) Saturdays when it’s not raining.

955) Ditto for Sundays.

956) Not having been hit by any cars in the last 6 months.

957) Being alone and praying in Baskin Chapel at Brentwood Baptist Church.

958) Every time someone accepts my friend request on Facebook.

959) The way when I’m in a serious moment of silence and my stomach suddenly decides to do a spot-on impression of a whale’s mating call (borrowed this one from Pinterest).

960) That the walk of faith is not about seeing the whole journey but taking the next step.

961) That my hope isn’t in a President but a King.

962) Knowing the Kingdom of God is now and not yet.

963) Nerds candy.

964) Big League Chew bubble gum.

965) Meeting an Asian person who hates all Asian food (and thus busting another stereotype).

966) Asian food of just about any kind.

967) All George MacDonald’s fantasy stories.

968) How much I can relate to John Cusack’s characters in just about every one of his movies.

969) Living in the moment and finding God there.

970) My friend at Ultimate Frisbee who looks like Amanda Seyfried and who always makes me smile.

The Healing Process

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I went back to Historic Downtown Franklin today for the first time since being hit by the car. I walked over to the spot where it happened, or at least where I’m fairly positive it happened, since the event has grown fuzzy in my mind.

I’m still nervous about crossing the street, even at a crosswalk where I have the walk sign. I hope that never fully goes away, so I will always be extra cautious and never get careless again in the same way that caused me to step out in front of a car.

I ate at my favorite place, McCreary’s Irish Pub, and saw a movie at my favorite venue, the Franklin Theatre. I’m glad that my return trip brought way more memories of good times rather than that one bad night.

I wish my pinky finger would heal faster. It’s still swollen and I still can’t bend it at the lower joint. But healing takes time.

I think we do healing an injustice when we rush it. Or at least I do. I feel like I should be over it already and moved on, so I don’t really give myself time to get well. I get frustrated when the same old fears rear their ugly heads when I thought I was over all that, then I realize that I’m better, but not whole yet.

It’s okay to still be broken as long as you know you’re moving toward wholeness. It’s okay to admit that you got overwhelmed by fears and anxieties because you remember when those dominated your life from waking up to lying down at night.

If a broken bone doesn’t heal right, it sometimes has to be re-broken and set again so it can heal properly. I pray for all of us that we allow time for God’s healing to soak in and really get to all the deep dark broken places in us that need his light. May we remember that we are all works in progress and will be until Jesus comes back.

 

 

My New Year’s Resolutions Thus Far

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I haven’t really given a lot of thought to new year’s resolutions. I probably should start on that sometime soon, but for now I’ll give you what I have so far. It’s a short list, but we’re only 3 days into 2013, so I figure that I have at least another week or two to really get all my goals down in writing. Here goes:

1) To not get hit by any more cars. I think once was enough for a lifetime and I’m fortunate to only have a dislocated pinky and a busted elbow from it. I think that’s a doable resolution, don’t you?

2) To look both ways twice before crossing the street. It goes along with the first one, and so far I’ve been faithful with this one.

3) To do better at giving people the benefit of the doubt and grace. I’ve needed plenty of grace from other people in the past, so I know what it feels like to need it. I also know that when someone does something I don’t like or understand, there’s always one fact about that person that if I knew, would completely change my perspective on why they did what they did.

4) This one’s still a work in progress. Check back later.

5) Ditto for #4. In fact, #6, #7, and #8, too.

That’s it for me for now.

I’d like to hear your resolutions. Partly because I really am interested. Partly because I could always take the ones I really like and steal them and say they were my ideas.

I hope and pray that if 2013 was a good year that 2013 will be even better. If 2012 was a rough year that you are glad to have gotten through, I hope 2013 will see good things and blessings coming your way. Even if you’ve gotten off to a bad start, January 4 can always be your new beginning. It’s never too late to start again.

 

 

2013: The New Adventure

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

we_bought_a_zoo_p

“It’s not about where an adventure ends, because that’s not what an adventure is about” (from We Bought a Zoo).

I think a lot of us are glad to see the end of 2012. For some, 2012 was painful and said. For me, it was a year that saw some challenges, had its really good moments, but it’s now over and I’m ready for a new adventure.

I take that back. It’s not a new adventure. It’s a continuation in the unfolding adventure of what God has for me next. It’s a new chapter in the book that God is writing. The one where I’m the main character (and I hope that if Hollywood adapts the book about me into a movie, they get Matt Damon or John Cusack to play me. That would be awesome.

But I digress.

I say one of the best moments in 2012 for me was seeing Sixpence None the Richer in concert at the Franklin Theatre and hearing them play “Kiss Me” live. That was a highlight moment that is definitely in my top 10. The worst moment was getting hit by that car, even though it didn’t hurt me nearly as bad as it probably should have. It shook me up.

But even that turned out for the good. I have never been more thankful to be alive and grateful for the good things in my life, like family and friends. I’ve let go of some negative thinking in light of almost seeing my life flash before my eyes.

So bring it, 2013. I’m ready. I have an open mind and an open heart and open hands. I have no expectations this year other than this: I fully expect God to be present in my life and bring the people and places and circumstances and situations into my life that will make me more like Jesus. Like I read earlier today, God wants my faithfulness more than he wants my success.

2013’s gonna be a great year.

 

 

Thankful for Life

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Of all the potential bucket list items I might have chosen to get done before I die, getting hit by a car was not one of them. But now I can scratch that one off my list.

I was crossing 5th Street in Historic Downtown Franklin when I foolishly stepped in front of a Mustang and got clipped. It knocked me to the ground and I’m pretty sure it took out the side view mirror on the car.

I remember seeing the car and thinking, “Oh crap, it’s going to hit me.” That’s not a feeling I want to relive any time soon.

I looked down at my hand and my pinky was bent in a funny shape. I was positive I had just broken my very first bone at 40 years old. I kept waiting for the serious pain to kick in, but it never did.

The girl who hit me was profusely apologetic and asked at least a thousand times if I was okay and could she call an ambulance for me. I felt more bad for her than for me. I got a little woozy and decided to sit down in Sweet CeCe’s just across the street.

Later, I spent three hours in the emergency room at Williamson Medical Center, mostly on account of that crooked little finger.

The only injuries I have to report are a dislocated pinky and a cut on my elbow that required five stitches. Oh, and a very small scrape on my right knee.

I did end up missing a movie I had bought a ticket for that I really wanted to see. The Perks of Being a Wallflower at the Franklin Theatre will have to wait. Hopefully, they will show it again soon.

Overall, I am most thankful to be alive and in one unbroken and (mostly) pain-free piece. I could have been killed or seriously injured. I could very easily have hit my head when I fell.

But I am convinced that God was watching out for me. Even though I scraped up my elbow, the jacket I was wearing has no tear or holes in it. My jeans where the knee got scraped are intact. As am I.

I might be a little sore in the next day or so, but I will never be more glad for soreness. I am truly blessed.