Taking It All For Granted...

"...And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying..."
This past week or so has been rough for my little community of Winchester, KY. A few weekends ago we had two awful car wrecks. One wreck landed a few boys in the hospital and killed another young man in the car, and then another wreck killed a promising young football player, who had just began his senior year of high school. Then, just a few days ago on Sunday, my friend Robin's ex (who she is still very close with and has a ten year old daughter with) just collapsed in his. His ten year old daughter found him and called 911 immediately (such a brave little girl...we love you, Kaylee!) but unfortunately it looks like the damage is done. Turns out he had a heart attack followed by a series of strokes.
I don't know any of the people who died personally, and I've only met Robin's ex, Todd, a few times. But I, along with most of the people in Winchester, feel this immense sadness for the tragic events of recent days. Yes, it does make me sad to see a friend in pain, but it's even more than that. Throughout the past few days, I feel like God has told me to open my eyes and look around. I had lunch with my husband today, and kept sneaking little glimpses and hugs, all the time realizing how quickly he could be taken from me. After I left the ICU waiting room earlier and went to pick up my girls from school, I had to hold back the tears in the parking lot before I walked in because it dawned on me how lucky I am to have them; how much that poor football players mom would give to be in my shoes right now. Now, obviously you can't live life always thinking about how the people you love can be taken from you, but I've really been forced me to step back for a second and take notice how often we take the people and things around us for granted. How often I hurry through bedtime storytime just so I can make it downstairs in time to watch my show. How often I tell my kids to be quiet so I can talk on the phone. How often I don't kiss my husband when he walks in the door from work. How often I don't say "I love you" at the end of a phone conversation with family because it was "just a quick chat" and I was in a hurry to get off the phone. All of those are things I know I would regret to the ends of the Earth if one of my loved ones died tomorrow. It's like that Tim McGraw song "Live Like You Were Dying"...yea, it's a great song and gives us all goosebumps when we hear it. But what if we all truly lived like today was our last day to spend with our friends and families? Because after all, it just might be...
God, I come to you today and ask that you provide comfort and healing for the families who have lost someone they love. Lord, I pray that your will be done in the case of Todd Rogers, whether it's healing him so that he can continue his life on Earth, or taking him home to live for eternity with you. I pray for Kaylee that she continues to find strength in the midst of such incredible pain, and that you hold her hand and guard her heart. Thank you, God, for reminding me how powerful you are and how temporary I am. It's in Jesus most holy name I pray...Amen...