Happenings That Build Faith

It has been one of those odd weeks where curious events happen. Now, I guess the events may not seem odd or unusual for anyone else, but I have been praying about how things have worked out and I know that my family and I are truly blessed and we have our guardian angels and the Holy Spirit looking out for us.

On Monday, my DH, was in a near death accident. He was still upset about it when he got home that evening, relieved that he was alive. Tuesday morning, DD18 was driving out to our house so DH could put her snow tires on. Right before you turn to go up the road to our house, there is a big corner. As she approached the corner, a big semi came barreling down the road completely in her lane. There is very little shoulder and a drop off into a ditch, which she did her best to try and get off the road to avoid a collision. There was a car at the stop sign on our road that was watching in horror at what was unraveling before their eyes. She managed to squeeze off the road in the split second of time as the semi started swerving all over the road. She was so shaken and trembling it was all she could do to make it the 2 miles to our house where she could be in the comfort of her dad's arms. Thank God she is alive and safe!

So Wednesday after school, I begin my commute home. It had snowed a couple of inches that day, with highs between 25-31, so that translates to slick roads. As I crest one of the hills and start my descent, I see flares in the road and I'm thinking, "Oh, no." Sure enough, two trucks and a car had been going too fast and were all twisted up in the ditch on the side of the road. I have a Subaru with studs and all wheel drive, but I could still feel my tires slip as I was driving. I try my best to be safe and not be over confident. I moved to the left lane. The problem here was drivers who were over confident, and black ice. I prayed for a safe drive the rest of the way home as a car flew up on my rear end, trying to mate with the my car, I guess. Can't these people see the wrecks? Fortunately, I was able to get over and let this nincumpoop pass me. Funny, about a 1/2 mile after he passed me, I saw him slip. He slowed down. I made it home safely.

Friday morning, DD18 called to let us know that one of her roommates (she moved out last week) had backed out while turning and damaged the front driver side of her car so bad that she has to crawl through the passenger side to get in because she can't open her door. At least the car is driveable. She had already had a rough week with Monday's near death experience, that this was enough to build doubt.

DD17 has played basketball for 6 years, from 5th grade on. She is not a star player, but she is one of the few players that consistently blocks out, runs the plays correctly, and tries her hardest. She needs to work on squaring up to make her shots. She is not one of the high scorers. She was on C squad the last two years. Last year she started almost every game, and played point guard, or 2 and 3. Well, after tryouts this week, she was cut from the team last night. Told there was no room on JV or V for her. She is devastated. She needs to have something to do. I baked brownies for her. Chocolate, you know, makes things easier. She perked up and said that she would have an awesome IBA (intramural) basketball team and have fun with that. When one door closes, another door opens. As a parent, I am trying not to seethe over this whole situation, noting that the head coach has never liked either one of our daughters, but how the JV and C coach always played her and told us how she was improving her game, and how much they liked her. Okay, enough griping. I need to think positive. There is a plan for her.

Last night at 1 a.m., I awoke to hear the coyotes howling and yipping closer to our house than I had ever heard them before. Like maybe 25-30 yards away. Cooper, our golden retriever, was going ballistic! His bark changes and you can tell he is upset and doing his best to guard his pack. I finally got up and got the spotlight. By then, I didn't hear them. So, I went back to bed, but Cooper sure didn't. He circles the house routinely, and he was still barking and growling. DH got grumpily up and grabbed the gun and spotlight. We checked out the chicken barn. "Are those Cooper prints in the snow?" They didn't appear to be. More like several coyotes. So we checked on the gals, who were snug in the barn. Well, I guess 20 degrees is not easy to be snug in, but they were safe. Whew! Actually, one of my biggest worries with coyotes is Cooper. If coyotes feel a dog is a threat, they send in a lure close to the house. If your dog chases it away into the field, there is the rest of the pack waiting to ambush. I know this because when we had our other golden, who was barking maniacally late one night, stood his ground in the front yard. As I shone the spotlight out into the front field I saw nothing. I couldn't figure out what was up with him. As I brought my spotlight down, there was a coyote at the edge of our front lawn! When the light hit him, he ran off and as I followed him with the spotlight, all of a sudden several sets of glowing eyes appeared in the field. I was so relieved that Jake had stood his ground and not chased the bait. I hope that Cooper will show he is wise in this way as well. I could not stand to lose a great protector.

I know these are the kinds of events that happen. They are nothing unusual. But for whatever reason, I feel blessed that my DH is alive and able to wrap his arms around me. My DD18 was paying attention when she was driving, otherwise, I would be planning a funeral right now. I had a safe trip home. A damaged car is more of an inconvenience than anything else. DD17 will be blessed in some way after losing the opportunity to play her favorite game. Cooper is a good watchdog who stays up all night to guard us and our livestock. I feel blessed. I am happy that although things may go wrong, I am being shown that I have Him on our side.