The Antithetical Christian
Hello, all! It’s been a little longer than I would have liked since my last blog, and I apologize for that, but I’ve been out of commission for a few days. My life is a reality show sometimes.
Stay tuned…
So in this week’s episode of That Could Have Been A Lot Worse with JC LaChette, I’ll tell you how I was reminded to be grateful for what didn’t happen, instead of being angry about what did.
It was a beautiful Wednesday morning when I stopped at the local convenience store on my way to work for a coffee. (Yeah, I know I can make my own. But it just tastes so much better when you buy it, amirite?) I put my pickup truck in park, and get out. As I’m still standing between the truck and the door, the truck starts rolling backward. HOLY CRAP.
So here I am being pushed and dragged by my truck, and like an idiot, I’m trying to stop it by leaning into the door with my leg. Natural instinct, I know, but it’s kind of funny now when I look back – imagining myself trying to hold a two-ton truck back with my knee and shoulder. Who do I think I am, Superman?
Anyway, I managed to push down on the e-brake with my hand, then dive to the ground and let the door pass over me (Thanks GOD it’s a truck and therefore high – I am NOT a small woman. A car would have sheared me like a sheep.) The truck rolled about another 5 feet then finally stopped – about 10 feet from a gas pump and a few people fueling up their truck.
Able to stop a pickup truck with a single knee.
Adrenaline still pumping, I jump in, start it up, and pull forward back into the spot, then push the e-brake and shut it off. Then the pain starts. My left leg hurt so bad I was shaking from the pain. Keep in mind, I live my life in a constant state of pain, so for it to hurt that bad, you know it had to be hellacious. I reach down to rub my knee and feel blood. Awesome.
Long story short, I called my husband and went to the ER. I sprained my knee and hip, lacerated my knee, and bruised my leg down to the bone. It’s a rainbow of different colors right now. I’m on the mend and at least able to hobble a bit today.
As I sat home on Wednesday night, putting ice and bandages on my leg, it hit me – that could have been SO MUCH WORSE. Up until then, I was in “WHAT THE HECK, GOD?” mode – trying to figure out why this happened when I had so much to do and I was having a good day and blah blah blah…
I realized at that moment that I could have easily been run over by that two-ton truck. It could have kept going and caused an explosion that killed not only me but also everyone else around. So many things could have happened, but ya know what? They didn’t. The truck malfunctioned, not God. God made sure I got away with just a gnarly-but-minor-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things injury and some frustration.
I instantly became grateful for that accident. I started thanking God for watching over me, for giving me the wherewithal to get that e-brake pushed. For making sure I didn’t end up under the truck. I also took a moment to thank him for my wonderful husband who took such wonderful care of me and held my hand and was essentially my leg for me.
Did you hear what I said? I said THANK YOU.
I’m not saying we should focus on all the “what-ifs’ in every circumstance. I’m simply saying that sometimes reality hits us like a pickup truck and reminds us that we need to be grateful for all the good things in our lives. We need to stop for a minute and notice our blessings and say “thanks, God,” instead of constantly asking for things and pouting when we don’t get them.
I am truly blessed, in so many ways. I knew that before this incident, but it still served as a reminder of all those silver linings. I urge you to take a few minutes today to think about all the ways you are blessed and say a quick “thank you” to God for all those things.
Don’t wait for a pickup truck.
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