Thoughts.com Blogs - Easy Come, Easy Go

To everything (turn turn turn) there is a season (turn turn turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

Or so says the 1965 release of the song by the folk band The Byrds, based on the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, music by Pete Seeger.

There is also time to kill a car, and time to buy a car. In my case, last Sunday.

My wife Kathy, my son Jonathan and I were leaving a birthday party for my two year old niece, and the first one in line to turn left onto a busy highway once the light turned green. When we were finally given the signal to go, we slowly moved into the intersection to turn left and suddenly Kathy yelled, “The Truck!” This gave me enough time to see this full size pickup barreling toward us, and hit the brakes, which avoided a worse collision. The guy simply wasn’t paying attention, and POW, slammed into our car at at least forty miles per hour. My car spun around on the impact and careened to a stop. Kathy and I were dazed and in pain. Jonathan was fine.

The guy that hit us ran over to our car and urgently instructed us to get out quick, lest the car explode. Gas and other fluids were pouring out of the car, and the airbag had not deployed. He said he was a paramedic, and we needed to get out now! Can you beat the irony; the first one to the car was a paramedic, because he was the one who hit us! Some of those still at the party several block away actually heard the crash, and came running. My brother in law showed up quickly and drove us to the hospital.

We really loved our car. It is (or was) a silver Chrysler 300. At the moment, it’s more like about one hundred and a half if you catch my meaning. The front half was a victim of someone running a red light and basically T Boning the front drivers’ side of the car. Today it sits awaiting its fate pending the adjusters’ decision about whether to total it or not.

Kathy and I were shaken up enough to get checked out at a local hospital. I thought I might have some broken ribs, and Kathy hurt pretty badly in several places. Turns out it was nothing more serious than bruising and spraining, and we are well on the road to recovery.

Why is it that we take so for granted our relatively pain free existence? (With apologies to those of you suffering from chronic pain) As I write, I am still dealing with tender and hurting ribs. It hurts when I breathe, it hurts to move certain ways. I am now freshly aware of those in my life who deal with pain, and I feel for them more now that I am experiencing it in some small degree.

Kathy’s mom, Julie, is struggling with serious pain in her spine. At age seventy five, this is the first real test of pain she has had to endure, and amazingly, it has really softened her. By her own conversation, she notices that she has much more empathy now that she has a reference point to the pain of others. She used to be pretty tight with her emotions, keeping her feelings inside. Not anymore. She is a totally new and wonderful person. I guess what I am saying here is that trials are for a reason, and that they serve to teach us life lessons we may not be able to learn any other way.

I don’t want to waste my pain. I want to be changed by it. Kathy is in pain too, and I hope that we both grow through the process of dealing with this comparatively light trial.

The accident could have easily been far worse. Thanks to the sturdiness of the car, and Kathy warning me in time to hit the brakes, we were OK. A second later and the guy who hit us would have directly broadsided us, causing a much more serious situation.

The car…well, easy come easy go. We love that car, but it’s just a car. The important things, Kathy, and my son, remain in great condition. Just don’t make us laugh or sneeze for a few more days, and we’ll be just fine. We would however appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery, and a good outcome concerning the car. Thanks guys!

John