Thank the Lord

Throughout my life, I have not been an extremely religious person. I was raised Catholic, but was encouraged to educate myself about other beliefs and religions. Today I am comfortable calling myself a Christian. I am happy to have a personal relationship with my lord and savior Jesus Christ. He (I know it sounds cliche) truly is My Rock.

Lately, I have thought a lot about the different things in my life that I have... A great boyfriend, a dog that absolutely loves the crap out of me, a loving and supportive family, a progressing education, and a good job. Oh! I also have some of the most amazing friends a girl could ever ask for. I treasure my life and the lives of others around me tremendously. And it's not until one of those things is almost taken away from you when you begin to realize how lucky you really are for having it in your life.

On Tuesday of this week, I received a voice mail from my boyfriend of almost 3 years. Michael had called and told me he had been in a bad car accident. As I listened to his voice mail, I felt my stomach begin to churn. He had hit a guy that ran a red light. He said he was okay, but knowing my BF, I knew that it could be way worse (he tends to downplay some scenarios, which I think is pretty typical of most men).

I was in class (my new Social Networks class) when I received the call on our lunch break. My class is in session Tuesdays only from 8:30am-4"ish"pm. Knowing that each hour is essentially a whole class period, I knew I could not leave. I would just have to walk back into the room to finish class for the rest of the day and do my best to keep my mind off of the accident.

I really didn't know much from briefly talking to him that afternoon. He told me he was okay and that he only got 1st and 2nd degree chemical burns on his left forearm from the airbag deploying. Still, I was worried. Luckily, the topics we cover in class are really interesting to me, and it was easier than I thought to keep my focus on my academics for the day.

Class let out early. I hurried up to my bike, which was parked in the computer lab in the adjacent building at school. I knew Michael would be home as he said the only thing he had to do after the accident was go to the Auraria Campus Medical Center to have his arm checked out. So, I petaled my little heart out heading home. When I walked in the door, I was (as always) almost knocked down by Otis, my psycho Australian Cattle dog/Rottweiler mix.

I called for Michael to see if he was home. As I set down my bike, Michael appeared from around the corner. He had tears in his eyes. He said he had just gotten home from the Medical Center, and just took Otis out for a walk. I could tell that now he was home, the significance of the event had finally hit him. At that moment, we held each other knowing the accident could have been much much worse than it was.

Often, it's events like these (accidents, etc.) that remind us of how precious life really is. I have been in several car accidents in my life, and have developed a true appreciation for rescue workers and emergency responders. They are really heroes. I am always touched at their ability to calm victims down and speak to them in a way that reassures them and lets them know they will be okay. I know Michael was greeted by these kinds of people just after he crashed... They were there for him when he was scared and shocked.

I have prayed a lot in the last couple of days... Not only for a swift recovery for Michael, but for all those people out there who have been in bad car accidents and may not have been so lucky. I pray that God may comfort them in their time of despair and need, and that they may find solitude in His love, peace and warmth.

...Today I am thankful for the emergency responders of my boyfriends accident, and to God for not taking home just yet... Thank you!

E