Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Little decisions, big consequences

It's funny how the little choices you make in life can affect you in big ways.
Yesterday, I made a wrong turn coming out of Target.  You see, I had a meeting with a lady from the Baptist Association @ 2:30 and so I figured I'd spend some time in Target looking then go to meet her.  When I came out of the parking lot, I went the wrong way.  "Oh well", I thought!  "I will just go around the block instead of doing a U-turn.".  Well, that choice cost me our minivan.
Yes, you read right, we no longer have our car!  I was travelling down the "wrong road" and the lady in front of me decided to stop in the middle of the intersection.  She slammed on brakes and I hit her.  Luckily, we weren't going more than 30MPH, so there were no serious injuries.  However, it did enough damage to our car that it's gonna cost more than we can afford to get it running again.    I was pretty shaken up.  I've never really had THAT kind of accident before.  The airbags deployed, my arms got bruised up and I cried my eyes out over my "paid for and still running" car.  I seriously understand how folks can be in shock after something like that.  I couldn't focus on anything that day.  

So, I started thinking today about the whole irony of this situation.  I considered it in spiritual terms to see what I could come up with and here's what I got:
  1. Small choices make for changes/consequences in your life so consider your choices carefully.
  2. Going the wrong direction with the intent of turning around will cause problems so make the U-turn as soon as you realize you're heading the wrong way!
  3. Don't sweat the small stuff...after all, it's just stuff.  (although, I will admit that I cried today when we signed the title over.  There are alot of good memories from that van.)
  4. You gotta have Faith!  I'm not sure what we're gonna do now that the trusty minivan is gone, but I'm sure that God will take care of us.  He's never let us down before so I know He won't start now!
Pray for us that something will come our way and that we will use wisdom to make the right decisions regarding our transportation!  Also, pray that my stiffness will work itself out.  My arms, shoulders, and neck are a bit sore.

Thank you, Kim, for calling me and checking to make sure I was ok!  You are so sweet and I love you, my friend!
Thank you, Jason & Lora, for the sweet flowers/candy/drinks to make me feel better!  The flowers made me smile, the candy...DUH! and the drinks...another DUH!  We love you guys!

5 comments:

Laci Strickland said...

I'm so glad that you are safe!!!!Randy told me what happened this morning and I have been thinking of you ever since. I know accidents are so scary and of course it's so easy to think of all the "coulda woulda shouldas"! I love the way you turned this into a great life lesson :)
Let us know if you need to borrow the Accord or anything! :-)

Gentzlers said...

I will be praying for you and I'm so thankful that you did not get hurt!
Kathy

Sheila said...

Thanks Laci! I appreciate your willingness to lend us your car! We'll be ok! Where do I need to go anyway!?!

Thank you for the prayers Kathy! I am so glad that there were no injuries! That's God's protection!

Dean and Mary said...

I would love to show you a picture of Dean's mini van after the Village Inn sign squished it 4 years ago on the first day of hurricane season. Now that was some serious damage. The 40 ft. sign fell over and landed right on top of our mini van. : ) We had just finished paying it off and were relieved not to have any car payments. For some reason we had to buy a new vehicle for Dean to drive and now we're making payments, but I thank God everyday that Dean wasn't getting into the van to come home when that gust of wind hit.
I'm relieved to hear that you are unhurt and that you're still here to share lifes lessons with us. And if you'd like a good laugh I'll post Dean's mini van picture on our blog so you won't feel so bad.
Love you Sheila!!!

Jenn said...

I'm just finding this out!!! I'm so sorry...had NO idea you went through this! (I'm a little behind on blogs) Ditto Sheila to what Laci said, if you need our van for anything, just let us know! love you!!!