When You Get That Dreaded Phone Call
When you get that dreaded phone call. Sunday afternoon Anita and I had enjoyed a good day at church and had picked up a few things at the grocery that we needed to make it through the week. We had come back home and decided to cook some dinner when the phone rang and it was my daughter’s boyfriend’s mother… she was very upset… we heard the words “horrible accident,” “ambulances and firetrucks,” and an added hesitant, “they are okay!” She wanted to give us an accurate description of the seriousness of the situation, but her sweet nature is to always bring comfort, so she was conflicted, as we all were, hoping for a good outcome, but seeing the dire circumstances. At that moment our instant reaction was “get to Memphis ASAP!” We assured his mother we were praying for her, our kids, and all those involved. She said she would call us back with more details as they were available. We put away the food and quickly packed as we prayed and tried to make the best plans we could with a panicked brain. We threw some clothes in a bag and jumped in the car for the 10 hour drive. As we travelled we learned more details… that a car going more than 50 mph had crossed the center line into their lane while spinning, hitting my daughter’s BF’s car head on. The other car was almost backward and the impact was all in the rear of the other car and the driver had left a child in the car and fled the scene, the police however, had caught him. My daughter was unresponsive for 10 minutes. Her eyes were dilated and her lips were blue. She finally woke up screaming and in shock. We then received pictures of their cars from the scene… it was horrific… we struggled to keep our fears of the worst in check. After 4 hours of driving and a lot of praying, we were able to speak to our daughter in the hospital ER. She sounded weak, but not yet gotten her Xrays or CT scans. She said she had seatbelt burns and bruises, chest and headache, and her leg hurt so badly she could not walk on it without excruciating pain. When we finally received news that they found no internal injuries and they were sending her home, we took a sigh of relief, praised God, and evaluated our own physical state since we had been in hyperfocus on the situation for about 6 hours. By this time it was close to midnight. We found out she was safely resting at her BF’s family’s home and we decided to stop in Nashville at Anita’s parent’s house rather than risk our own accident from the exhaustion that came from the adrenaline charged sprint towards Memphis. We knew we could make the last 3.5 hours in the morning, although had she been admitted to the hospital we were committed to finishing the drive that night to be with her. Anita’s parents gave lots of prayers and encouragement and gave us a good breakfast to get us on our way. As we got started, God and our daughter’s BF’s mother had miraculously gotten her an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon that morning and we met them at his office building. We were unable to go in because of the Coronavirus restrictions. We were so excited to see her limping out on crutches with her BF helping her. They were ALIVE and we got to see them and hug them (very gently, because they were all stove up). The Doc had determined from X-rays that she had a bone chip where the ligament was attached to one of her leg bones, but he wanted an MRI before determining whether he needed to do surgery… that won’t happen for a few more days. We are currently helping her recover at her apartment. As we have a few moments to reflect, we realize that this could have turned out very differently for everyone. We are very thankful to God to have these loved ones, though hurting and maybe needing surgery, alive and able to interact with us. Things don’t always turn out this way.
The Apostle Paul knows how fleeting life can be and warns us to continue walking with God as He walks with us. He encourages us to make the most of the time we have, because there are no guarantees. He doesn’t say this so we walk around scared all the time, fearing the worst, but so we will continue to live in God’s will loving people and bringing joy to them for as long as we are able. I like the New King James version that says it this way, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NKJV) The word “circumspectly'' comes from a Latin word meaning: to look around, it carries a meaning also of prudence, and cautious and careful consideration. During these uncertain times, we gotta wisely, carefully consider what our life will be… We are gonna haveta intentionally love God and His children, see how He wants to make our life be counted for Him. These types of incidents… car crashes, near death moments… are making me realize how fragile this life really is. We are glad to have our daughter and her boyfriend still here on this planet. I encourage all of us to not wait but to love well now. Ask God the best ways to do that, He loves them too, so He will let you know…
Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!