A Little Accident Last Night

Last night we had a little "accident." In order to protect the innocent & guilty, we'll leave some names to the imagination.

I was in the passenger seat while another member of the family was driving. We were on our way to meet Rick and Michael at Subway for dinner. The driver was doing AWESOME!!!!

Unfortunately there was construction work on the road in front of Subway. The driver passed large orange barrels, avoided heavy traffic, and pulled perfectly into the parking lot.

The driver chose a parking spot & pulled in. An ENORMOUS bulldozer was parked sideways at the end of the parking place. The bulldozer & our Suburban made a T!

At the moment the driver was suppose to press firmly on the brake & stop, the "accident" occurred. Her foot hit the accelerator - full throttle! We slammed into the huge bulldozer tire head on. Because it was a tire, we bounced off & hit it again. We didn't stop there. No, we bounced off and took another good hit! We were like a paddle and ball just pinging away.

Rick and Michael were sitting in Subway watching the whole thing. Rick said a man sitting next to him said, "What the _ _ _ _?" I'm sure it was an interesting sight. Rick said you could hear the tires squealing in the restaurant and we were just bouncing back and going for another round!

Finally, the brake was hit and we came to a stop. The driver was scared to death. Rick walked over and once again...my hero shined like a knight in armor! He didn't yell. He didn't get mad. He opened the door and helped pry the driver's hands free. After ensuring everyone's safety, we busted out laughing!

I learned 3 lessons from this accident!

1. Accidents are called accidents for a reason!

Rick told the driver that "Accidents are called accidents because they aren't done on purpose."

Everyone has accidents. That is part of life. The true test is how we respond when life throws us accidents. Rick was amazing! He was so patient, so sweet, and so forgiving. (even though it is going to cost him a little chunk of change) He was right, though, ACCIDENTS HAPPEN!

2. Laugh! Life is too short to spend angry or upset. Remember the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?" Another way to say it, might be, "When life gives you lemons, LAUGH!" We have laughed & laughed at the sight of us bouncing back and forth & the commentary of the gentleman in Subway!

3. Stop!

Sometimes in life we keep going again & again to the things that cause us pain - like hitting the bulldozer wheel.

How many times have I bought a bag of Oreos & eaten the whole bag? Shouldn't I stop buying Oreos? Like the truck last night, I just keep going back again & again! I had to ask myself, "What do I keep going back to that is causing pain in my life?" When I head towards those things, I've got to slam on the brakes and STOP!

Praise God everyone is safe & we all learned a good lesson & insurance covers "accidents!"