We had a wonderful time at my grandparents' house yesterday! As my mom blogged already, we celebrated my Aunt Christy's birthday with cake and cards and presents. :) I'm glad we were able to make her feel special. I'm also glad that we were able to spend time with my Aunt Deb and Uncle Jeff - they live in Illinois, so we obviously don't get to see them much. Uncle Jeff made a delicious carrot cake and chocolate cake for the birthday girl - they were SO good!! :)
Now, you might be wondering what my weird title means. Last night, on the way home from our grandparents', we dropped off my dad at a place near the beach where he and a couple of guys are hanging for the weekend. After we dropped him off at about 10:30 PM (we got a bit lost on the way...), the five of us made our way home. On the five-lane highway, there was a sign that informed us drivers that it blocked off the right 3 lanes. So my mom pulled over to the second-to-last lane as the huge cone-barrier thing formed a blockade against the cursed lanes (haha - they were just doing construction). I'm going to write the rest of the story in third person:
The Jonathon Parks audio CD was just at the most exciting part of the story as Nicole yawned and rested her head against the seat belt. She took her glasses off, folded them up and stored them safely away in their case. She re-adjusted her legs around her bag of stuff, trying to get comfortable in the cramped backseat. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine what it would be like to be one of the teenage girls in the story that was unfolding dramatically out of the speakers. She was soon lost in the suspenseful story...
Nicole opened her eyes after a moment and returned to the present. She yawned, leaned forward and strained to read the clock on the dashboard - oh, yeah, she had taken her glasses off. It looked like...11:19. She fell back against her seat and yawned again. Ergh. She was really tired. She tuned back into the audio CD. She watched the cone-barrier things speed past the right side of the car. One...two...three..."They aren't spaced out evenly," she mused. "They're pretty close to the car, too." Nicole glanced nervously at her mom as she drove steadily along. Her mom must have been thinking the same thing, too, because she edged the car a little to the left. "That's weird," Nicole thought. "The barriers are getting closer..." Her eyes shot toward mom and back toward the barriers - they were definitely getting closer.
"Mom..." She started. Then she gasped, getting the boys' attention. A barrier coming up was in their lane, but there was a car to the left of them! As they barrier rushed toward their car, Nicole screamed, "Mom, watch out!" A loud crash jolted everyone as glass flew past the car. Somehow Nicole's mom was able to make it into the fifth lane without getting hit again. Nicole burst out crying from the suspension and shock. The bumper must have been torn off, the side of the car completely dented. She was so tired - she just wanted to be home. All of a sudden, a wave of homesickness overwhelmed her, soaking into her body just like her exhaustion. She wanted to crawl into her canopy bed, stretch out, wrap her arms around the pillow and fall asleep in her large, comfortable, private, all-to-herself bedroom.
I know it sounds kinda dramatic, but that's what really happened. We all thought the whole side of the car was totally caved in or something, banged up and everything. But when Mom got out to check out the damage at the next red light, she gave us the good news that only the rearview mirror was smashed. Thank God!
So, onto the 'lessons' part of the title (yeah, this is kinda long). I started praying, asking God comfort me and show me the good side of this (other than the fact that no one was hurt!). He says He makes everything work together for my good, like the song we sang at church today. Somehow, this small accident showed me that God still has plans for me. It also showed me - and God showed me - that there will be times when things rush into my life that weren't expected. Things that look like barriers, complete road-blocks, dead-ends, etc. will be in my life. I will feel crushed and squeezed, the world shoving me on one side, the barrier or whatever it is coming up and threatening to crash my life. But I just need to trust God. I need to always trust God. He loves me, He loves us all to an extent that we can never, ever fathom. Good night, and God bless you all!
"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31
Now, you might be wondering what my weird title means. Last night, on the way home from our grandparents', we dropped off my dad at a place near the beach where he and a couple of guys are hanging for the weekend. After we dropped him off at about 10:30 PM (we got a bit lost on the way...), the five of us made our way home. On the five-lane highway, there was a sign that informed us drivers that it blocked off the right 3 lanes. So my mom pulled over to the second-to-last lane as the huge cone-barrier thing formed a blockade against the cursed lanes (haha - they were just doing construction). I'm going to write the rest of the story in third person:
The Jonathon Parks audio CD was just at the most exciting part of the story as Nicole yawned and rested her head against the seat belt. She took her glasses off, folded them up and stored them safely away in their case. She re-adjusted her legs around her bag of stuff, trying to get comfortable in the cramped backseat. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine what it would be like to be one of the teenage girls in the story that was unfolding dramatically out of the speakers. She was soon lost in the suspenseful story...
Nicole opened her eyes after a moment and returned to the present. She yawned, leaned forward and strained to read the clock on the dashboard - oh, yeah, she had taken her glasses off. It looked like...11:19. She fell back against her seat and yawned again. Ergh. She was really tired. She tuned back into the audio CD. She watched the cone-barrier things speed past the right side of the car. One...two...three..."They aren't spaced out evenly," she mused. "They're pretty close to the car, too." Nicole glanced nervously at her mom as she drove steadily along. Her mom must have been thinking the same thing, too, because she edged the car a little to the left. "That's weird," Nicole thought. "The barriers are getting closer..." Her eyes shot toward mom and back toward the barriers - they were definitely getting closer.
"Mom..." She started. Then she gasped, getting the boys' attention. A barrier coming up was in their lane, but there was a car to the left of them! As they barrier rushed toward their car, Nicole screamed, "Mom, watch out!" A loud crash jolted everyone as glass flew past the car. Somehow Nicole's mom was able to make it into the fifth lane without getting hit again. Nicole burst out crying from the suspension and shock. The bumper must have been torn off, the side of the car completely dented. She was so tired - she just wanted to be home. All of a sudden, a wave of homesickness overwhelmed her, soaking into her body just like her exhaustion. She wanted to crawl into her canopy bed, stretch out, wrap her arms around the pillow and fall asleep in her large, comfortable, private, all-to-herself bedroom.
I know it sounds kinda dramatic, but that's what really happened. We all thought the whole side of the car was totally caved in or something, banged up and everything. But when Mom got out to check out the damage at the next red light, she gave us the good news that only the rearview mirror was smashed. Thank God!
So, onto the 'lessons' part of the title (yeah, this is kinda long). I started praying, asking God comfort me and show me the good side of this (other than the fact that no one was hurt!). He says He makes everything work together for my good, like the song we sang at church today. Somehow, this small accident showed me that God still has plans for me. It also showed me - and God showed me - that there will be times when things rush into my life that weren't expected. Things that look like barriers, complete road-blocks, dead-ends, etc. will be in my life. I will feel crushed and squeezed, the world shoving me on one side, the barrier or whatever it is coming up and threatening to crash my life. But I just need to trust God. I need to always trust God. He loves me, He loves us all to an extent that we can never, ever fathom. Good night, and God bless you all!
"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31
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