Two inches…

That was the difference between a minor fender bender and possibly a life.

Last night we were driving home from an overnight trip at the beach. We decided to take the long way around (the Washington coast). The boys were in the back taking their naps and we wanted to do a bit of sight seeing. There are so many beautiful places to stop along the way, so we were taking our sweet time getting home.

There was some major road construction going on about an hour from home. We got stuck in traffic for an hour after we’d already been driving for two hours. Since there was no place to stop off, I had climbed back in the back to calm the boys. They had finally woken up and were slightly upset that we weren’t moving anywhere (not to mention the baby had a wet diaper and there was no place to stop to change him).

Traffic cleared up a few minutes later and we were well on our way home. All of a sudden, traffic came to a complete STOP. We had been cruising along at about 45 miles an hour prior to the stop. Thankfully Derrick hit the brakes in time and we didn’t hit the person in front of us. Unfortunately the guy behind us didn’t see the traffic stop either. As I looked back, he swerved around the right of our car, slamming on his brakes. His tire went up along the side of our vehicle and he eventually stopped along the guard rail. I knew we had been hit, but I didn’t know how badly. My first instinct was to hug Isaac (who was sitting to the right of me). I started shaking and crying after realizing how close we came to being severely rear-ended.

When I finally gained my composure, I climbed out of the car. After looking around I lost it again and had to turn away (I hate crying in front of people). Thankfully everyone was okay. We chatted a bit with the other folks involved in the accident and I couldn’t help but thank the guy that hit us for acting so quickly and moving out of the way. If he would have been two inches closer to us, we would have been pushed completely forward into the car in front (and who knows what else). All I could think of is how hurt we all could have been since we were all going really fast. When he saw me bring our little boys out of the car, he had to wipe away some tears. I can’t even imagine what that guy was going through knowing he could have possibly hit us with small kids inside.

Our car had to be towed away as it’s not drivable and requires major body work. The tire was completely torn off and the axle bent, so we have some other major damage to that as well. But, a car can be fixed.

A person cannot be replaced.

I am so incredibly thankful that it was only damage to the car. A few inches and my story today could have been quite different. Thank you Lord for watching out for us and keeping us safe. I’m incredibly grateful.

The irony of my story is that I had been in quite a miserable mood prior to the accident. I was in a funk and quite unhappy with my hubby (as we wives can get sometimes). It had been a rough week and though we were on vacation, the tension was there. After it all happened I realized how incredibly stupid it was of me to feel so angry towards him for stupid reasons. (You don’t even want to know how stupid).

In a blink life can change dramatically. In a blink, I could have gone through that front windshield. In a blink my kids could have been gone.

Hug those you love.

Forgive others.

LIVE life.

You never know what might happen.