In Which I Learn The Value Of Life

"The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." 

The other night, I had one of the scariest experiences of my entire life. We had a call come up in the middle of the night. It was about 4:00am when we were on our way back home in the ambulance. A single trip takes us about three hours, so by this time, we had been up since just before 2:00am. We were driving down the road when the headlights in front of us veered out of his lane and straight into our lane, then proceeded to come right at us. I was going approximately 60mph and he was doing at least 70mph. I hit the horn, swerved that big ambulance and somehow managed not to flip us over while we danced around the car.
The preparation for avoiding this possible accident began many years ago as I learned and than practiced safe driving habits. I have many, many years of defensive driving under my belt. Every year, before I can drive, I must pass off a 16 hour driving class. It is usually right around Christmas time, in the ice and the snow, and the cold, and is always inconvenient for me to attend. Still, for the past five years, I have gone and learned to drive that ambulance forwards and backwards through all kinds of obstacles.
Sometimes, it seems almost boring to go over the same things again and again. But this week, I was so grateful for the repetition in my life. The problem with ambulances is they roll easily if you drive them off the edge of the road when you are going fast. So, you don’t ever go off the edge of the road. You keep those tires on the blacktop.
Honestly, I can’t even begin to tell you how I missed that crazy driver. He never left our lane. He kept coming right at us. He did not swerve or veer away. He did not drift. One moment he was in his own lane and the next, he was in ours, coming straight at us and all we could see where the brightness of his headlights.

~Robert Louis Stevenson~ 

We both were sure that we were going to be dead. The medic who was with me (totally Mr. Calm by the way) told me that he could not believe that I had managed to avoid that car. I was not so calm, but couldn’t believe that I was still alive either. I am sure that it was a miracle in my life; a true blessing. All I could think of was that I wasn’t ready to die yet. There are still so many things that I need to do. There are still too many things that are yet undone.
Life is a lot like this ambulance ride of mine. We can be going along in our own direction when the choices and decisions of others will bring them right into our own area. There is not a lot that we can do to avoid those kinds of problems, the only thing we can do is to prepare ourselves by striving to get closer to our Heavenly Father day by day.  It might not change the consequences, but it can change our own attitudes through the trials that we will face.  Nothing we can do can prevent those moments, although some things we can do can give us a better chance of getting through them.  

Today, I am grateful for life and all it's many lessons.  Even the ones that I don't seem to like or appreciate.  I know that each and every day is a gift from my Heavenly Father.  It is up to me to learn and grow from the experience. 

Linking up for Life Unmasked over at Joy's.  Hope to see you there.