Sunday, first Sunday in Advent, saw me happily leaving the house early to be early to an early Mass. Ten minutes later a car crossed my lane to make a left onto the road and caused a rather serious accident. I clearly saw her, saw the pickup coming down the road from the opposite direction to me, and suddenly, she pulls out directly into my path. She pulled out into my path with far too little distance between us for me to stop in time.

It hurt, the impact. My seat belt did its job and held me tight, leaving vivid marks on my hips and chest. My airbags did their job, exploding into my face, dampening the impact. The crumple zones on the car did their job and absorbed much impact.

I sat, watching the airbag deflate, a thin curly trickle of smoke rising from the steering wheel. My chest hurt, especially the right side and I knew I was going to be bruised BAD. It was an intense burning pain.

I am grateful that my desire to attend an early Mass meant I went alone.

I am grateful that a comment by a Fr. Lockey in Moral Theology led to my cultivating the habit dropping down under the speed limit when going through this little town even if the official speed limit isn’t decreased. It meant I was very likely a solid five miles under the speed limit before the accident stopped all forward movement.

I am grateful that all the safety features on my car worked perfectly.

I am grateful that the men who saw the accident happen stopped, called 911, and let me talk and talk until the EMS got there and took over.

I am grateful the witness told the police what happened.

I am grateful to the police officer who secured my purse for me and took the phone and called my husband then waited until he got there to turn my things over to him.

I am grateful to the EMS persons who got me safely to the hospital.

I am grateful to the staff at the hospital for checking for broken bones and internal bleeding.

I am grateful for the skill of the gentleman who put in the hep lock and only had to try in two places. That is skill because often it takes three or four attempts.

I am grateful to our friends Gerald and Susan who leaped to our aid and took care of the children while Gary took care of me.

I am grateful that the car that caused the accident was insured.

I am grateful that I must only stop breast feeding my baby for 24 hours and that the bloody milk should clear up in a day or so.

I am grateful to God that I escaped with severe bruising, one broken rib, and a tailbone that hurts more than all the rest combined.

I am grateful for the pain medicine the doctor prescribed because if I hurt this much on the stuff I cannot imagine how bad I would hurt without it!

Dear God, thank You so much for all the things that went right in this accident. Thank You for the work of the engineers that made the cars safer. Thank You for the emergency persons and the hospital staff who eased my mind and made sure there were no life threatening injuries. Thank You that the other persons involved were also OK. Please bless all the people who helped us, and please bless and help to heal the lady who caused the accident. Please speed our healing. Thank You for preserving my life and health. Amen.