sleepless night

Here goes my attempt at blogging. I had intentions of creating this much sooner, but to no avail. I love reading everyone elses and so I figured...why not. I have done the Myspace thing for a few months now, but that seems so impersonal, so here is my go at blogging.

I titled this sleepless night because it is currently 5:36am and I am awake. Not barely awake, but wide awake! If you know me very well, you know that during the summer months....I don't get out of bed before 8am unless something unusual is happening. I am a sleeper. I enjoy sleeping. I consider it one of my hobbies. I once heard that people that take naps will live longer. I have take this information literally and I am setting a goal of living til I'm 100! I guess I'll explain why I think I'm awake and have been since around 4am.

I saw something yesterday that was so horrible. I was on my way home heading south on hwy 37. I had just taken my grandma home from our trip to Indianapolis to see my grandpa who had surgery last Friday. I had stopped at my mom and dad's house to visit for a minute and was just heading home with the kids. We were traveling southbound and was stopped about a mile short of a stoplight. This stoplight was installed about a year ago and there have many wrecks since that time. It is a very bad spot for a stoplight. There is a curve in the road so northbound traffic can barely see the light until they are almost upon it and the southbound lanes are coming down a small hill and have the same problem. So as I am sitting in standstill traffic I say to the kids..." I think there has been an accident. We need to say a prayer for the people involved." This has become a habit for me and the kids when we are traveling. I think it all started when Josh Haltom was in an accident while at JBC. I got the call on my cell phone and me the kids started praying right then that he was safe. So we have just done that ever since when we see an accident. So....I said a prayer for the safety of the people involved and that God would protect them. Then I got a cell call from my sister. We chatted for a minute (all while still sitting still in traffic). Then traffic started moving. We got closer and I could begin to see the wreckage. It was horrible. I was so shocked at what I saw I had to end the call with my sister because I was crying so hard. There was a semi truck on top of another smaller truck. I could see the skid marks from the semi. It had traveled from the southbound lanes through the stoplight and across the median into oncoming northbound traffic. It had hit at least one truck and I'm sure if there were others involved. The truck was underneath the semi. Our local paper has on their website that there was at least one fatility.

It is seeing and hearing about things like this that make me think about life and thank God for every day I am given. I know that I am not promised tomorrow.

I think another part of me knows that Troy and many of my family and friends travel that intersection every day. That could have been them. I am so thankful that is wasn't, but my heart hurts for the families that lost a loved one yesterday.

In the last few months I have learned many things. Life is short. Live each day to its fullest and be grateful.

Thankful for the grace that God gives and the peace that comes through knowing Him,
Rachel