Let me just start out by saying, "everything's ok, mom!" Those are the words we like to hear whenever someone is getting ready to tell us something happened that's not so great, eh? Well, today was like any other "every other Wednesday" when I travel over to Bloomington to work with a quadriplegic gentleman and a couple others with handicaps. I heard the forecast this a.m. and wondered briefly if I should call and re-schedule, but quickly dismissed that little whisper from deep down and called myself a "woos". Anyway, I decided that I would go on over, the freezing rain would then hit (according to the time table on the internet), I would work all day over there, then by the time I was done the temperature would have risen and it would only be raining out before it turned to snow this evening. Again, all planned by the weather channel hour by hour - I do love to plan! Anyway, about 25 minutes into my trip (I was driving slower than normal because it was a little slippery), I was about to cross the river when a van that was coming from the other direction must have hit a patch of ice and began to fishtail - big time. From lane to lane I watched this van, my dad's advice playing in my head "don't slam on your brakes", so I slowed as best I could - pieces of bumpers were flying off this van into the air as it hit the guardrail and went from lane to lane. I believe my words at that time were just "Oh Jesus!" (the best prayer my brain could leak out at that moment) as I watched this van coming straight at me. Apparently God filled in the blanks from my little prayer and just in time, the van made it back into the right lane. I watched in my rear view mirror to see if they stopped or came back for any of their parts, but they didn't (probably were in some shock themselves!), so I slowly drove on - kinda shaky at this point. But still, I pushed down my now 2nd thought about re-scheduling today. I drove even slower now as I motored on towards Bloomington, thinking, "why didn't I at least go the highway?" When I was about halfway there, my phone rang and it was my oldest son, Barry. He wondered what I was doing today, as the roads were so bad in some spots and they were even having to leave the fields because of the ice. Ok! Third time must be a charm or when I get it or whatever, but at that point, I FINALLY decide to listen to my inner voice, pay attention to the signs, and override my "drive for perfection" and turn around. All is well - my plans for today have changed drastically, and I am now going to Bloomington one day next week to catch up with my peeps over there - point to all this story? Well, first of all, I wanted to recount it to remind myself of God's goodness to me this a.m. (not just in keeping me safe, but in sending sign after sign until I listened!), and because I want to encourage all of you (and myself) to try to override the training of our minds and listen to our inner voices - we really were created with some wisdom - we just have to learn to pay attention to it sometimes! Tomorrow (and today) I'm thankful I'm still here - there's more for me to do before I pass on, so I'm thankful that van made it back to her lane (and I'm glad she didn't wreck either!). Have a nice turkey day tomorrow - be thankful for time with your family and friends - and listen carefully for your inner voice - it might save you some trouble and some heartache! Happy Thanksgiving!
