Hi all,
I know. I'm not in some other country telling updating you on the latest adventure. BUT, I just really felt like writing about my drive to school this morning!
I left the house late to begin with... yeah, surprise surprise. So, I was clippin along pretty good when I saw the bus in front of me pass two little girls who were out by the road waiting for the bus to pick them up. And when I say little, they looked like about five or six years old...really little. So as I watched them in the rearview mirror it became evident that they were quite surprised to be left behind! They both dropped their jaws and threw their hands up and had this "what do we do now? we've been left behind!" expression on their faces. I guess I just couldn't get over it so I turned around to see if they were okay, meanwhile thinking "I can't imagine they are home alone..and even if I do give them a ride, where will they sit in my junk filled car??" Well, anyway, as I started down the road to their house, I saw another bus coming to pick them up. Well, that's a relief! I turned back around, thinking about those little girls--so precious and innocent. They thought for sure their day was all messed up, but it turned out just fine.
My next incident happened as I was driving passed the Angel's Crossing golf course and up that hill right before the train tracks. As always I was thinking about my family or the day ahead or whatever. I looked down momentarily (ahh yes, I was eating a chocolate CLIF bar and it was falling everywhere). When I happened to glance up, I was flying straight into the blinking railroad crossing gates that had started coming down when I was distracted. I shifted into neutral and slammed on the brakes, heart racing. As I calmed down I turned off the music and listed as the train tooted its horn. Thanks again, God, for always helping me to look up right when I need to, I prayed. Wheww.. As the train passed I thought about all the lives that have been taken at railroad crossings--probably a lot. They are one of the few things in our daily lives that are so powerful and virtually unstoppable at a moment's notice.Everything yields to the train. As I crossed the tracks I could see another train coming from the other direction, heading towards the intersection I was currently crossing. It's not too often there is more than one train..but I was certain everything would be fine. BUT I spent some extra moments hoping that the people behind me would look up in time to stop too.
As many of you know, the drive between Vicksburg and Schoolcraft is long and FLAT. So I was driving about the same speed as the train heading West. As I watched it, I was mesmerized. Just like a man on a serious mission, it charged through the countryside, leaving the beautiful sunrise in the dust.
The last 'happening' of my early morning drive to Western happened on the exit ramp coming off 131. As is common with this particular exit and this time of the morning, drivers were rushing off the highway, stomping on their brakes and piling up behind the stop sign. The problem was there was a freshly dead deer right in the middle of the exit ramp, so everyone was waddling around the poor thing, not really considering the freshness of the situation. After I had passed the deer and looked in my rearview mirror, I spotted the victim car parked on the side of the ramp, next to the deer. The accident had probably just taken place and the driver was likely still working on controlling their breathing. The vehicle that hit the deer was a pearl-colored Lexus, just like my mom's. The windshild was completely shattered and caved in. There was no way to pull over or stop or go back because of the traffic.
What I noticed was that every car that passed the deer and the damaged car just drove on by. I wanted to go back to help, but there was no way. What a devastating day for that person!
I guess I concluded one thing from my drive to school today. Life is SUPER fragile, yet so highly valued. Life is the one think we can lose in an instant unlike money, fame, etc. Are we living every day like it could be our last? This isn't some question that's just to get ya thinking. It's real life stuff...stuff that happened today to many people. It reminded me to thank God for giving me another day and to commit this day to Him entirely. I want my life to have value in eternity. Everything else would be a waste of time, something we can never get back.
