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What can you do “in an instant” to change the course of your
day, your week or your life?
I have been busy this season. Busy focusing on a new career path,
homeschooling, home keeping and traveling. This season has been…
life changing.
I have not had time for coffee with a friend, checking in on people I love
or sometimes to finish reading that chapter book with my boys.
Those are choices I make in an instant.
This week we planned to leave on an 11 day trip that would take
us to see family and friends in a few different states and end up at
a homeschool convention in Chattanooga to share
The Giles Frontier with new families.
The Giles Frontier with new families.
We put off time with friends, playing with the neighbors and returning
phone calls to family in order to get it all done in time! The dog needed
surgery, Grayson suddenly outgrew his shoes and Grant didn’t fit into any
of his jeans. The stress to be ready was mounting, instant by instant.
surgery, Grayson suddenly outgrew his shoes and Grant didn’t fit into any
of his jeans. The stress to be ready was mounting, instant by instant.
Then, the doorbell rang.
It was a neighbor, “you need to come now”, “Randy has fallen”. (My mom and
her husband, Randy live next door.) I threw on my shoes, ran next door to see
paramedics, firemen, and police in the driveway and Randy incapacitated on the
ground. He had been crushed between the carport poles and their car.
It was a freak accident.
It was bad.
Life has now changed.
It was a freak accident.
It was bad.
Life has now changed.
In an instant.
I can’t tell you the ending of this story for Randy, my Mom and our family
because we are still here in the hospital, day by day . We are praying for
healing. Randy has 8 broken ribs that are so excruciatingly painful, he
must be on a ventilator because his body does not want to breath.
He is facing thoracic surgery and obstacles that have changed his life.
because we are still here in the hospital, day by day . We are praying for
healing. Randy has 8 broken ribs that are so excruciatingly painful, he
must be on a ventilator because his body does not want to breath.
He is facing thoracic surgery and obstacles that have changed his life.
I am sharing this with you because everything
can change for you in an instant.
can change for you in an instant.
In an instant you can:
Watch your children play and soak them in.
Better yet, get on the floor or in the dirt with them!
Better yet, get on the floor or in the dirt with them!
Kiss your husband.
Instead of being irritated that he left a trail through the house.
Instead of being irritated that he left a trail through the house.
Call. Don’t text. Call a friend who needs an ear to listen.
Stop by. Just stop by your neighbors, your friend or relative’s house.
Just stop by.
Love.
Love through anger, love through pain, love through multiplication
and the piles of never-ending laundry and dishes.
Because in an instant. It can be gone.
I know time with my boys is fleeting.
As a mom, I see how fast my children grow and how
quickly 9 turns into 19. I say I want to
soak every last moment of them up. But among the dirt, dirty
As a mom, I see how fast my children grow and how
quickly 9 turns into 19. I say I want to
soak every last moment of them up. But among the dirt, dirty
laundry, undone chores and life’s irritations, that soaking can become
few and far between and at the end of the month, dry.
I write you this personal story not to make you feel sad for us, but
to inspire you, as always, to enjoy the journey with your children,
your family, your friends. Join me in changing the instants
that are in your control.
Because you see today, I….
soaked in my boys’ silly faces as we ate ice cream in
the car running family errands.
I kissed my husband as he left for work,
then picked up the trail he left behind.
I called my friend that I have not had time for.
I stopped by to check on someone who just needed
to see a friendly face,
All of this before I went to the hospital to sit with my mother,
watching and waiting for her love to come back to her.
Oh don’t let me forget the fried Chicken, yes, that is what my
Mother and Randy were after that afternoon as the
tragedy unfolded. Randy wanted Fried Chicken.
Randy is a gourmet chef, who loves food and in that instant,
fried chicken was on the menu for lunch.
Join me in a prayer that Randy will get the chance to
have a beautiful plate of
Fried Chicken.
Check our facebook page for updates on Randy’s progress.