It's Nice To Be Alive

It's nice to be alive.

There have been a lot of young people, out of high school types but not yet engaged in a career, who look over at me while we are on a driving test, sitting nice and comfortable and calm with clipboard in hand and an obvious air of contentment on my face, and thinking that this must really be a cool and soft way to make a living ask how one can get a job like mine.

"Looks easy? I say. "Yes" they mutter. "Well, it is." I assure them, "As long as someones not trying to kill you."

I was driving with a client last Thursday who, when arriving at the end of the entry ramp to the freeway, suddenly jerked his van hard to the left, went across two lanes of traffic without looking, lost control of his vehicle and then put his foot on the brake when his translator who was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle yelled at him. I had reached over to grab the steering wheel to try to regain control but can't remember if I was successful.

What I do remember is the BAMM!, then looking at myself sitting there in the passenger seat and realizing that nothing looked or felt injured on my body. I said "Thank you Lord!", looked over at the driver who seemed OK, sitting there next to a deflated air bag, then looking down at all of my papers which were now laying in front of me on the van floor. Traffic was slowly driving past on my right.

The next thing I remember was laying on a gurney being loaded into an ambulance. From then on I think I remember everything. It turns out that the only damage to my body was one broken rib, probably from the seat belt, and a bump on the back of my head which must have caused the concussion which led to my temporary memory lost. I'm told I didn't pass out but my answers to the emergency responders were not making sense. Good thing they didn't know me better.

It seems we were very lucky (although in that sense it should be noted that I do ride with angels). The policeman who visited me in the hospital said that we were rear ended by a semi. The truck driver remarked that it was good that he hit us square from behind because if we were on an angle it might have sent us into another lane or rolled us.

It's nice to be alive.

This was the first time in over 16 years of doing this that I have been injured. I called Jackie with my cell phone from the ambulance and told her where I was going and that I seemed to be fine except for a slight pain in the side of my back. Our boss drove over from Holland to GR and stayed with me for the several hours I was in the hospital. While there they gave me a cat scan (found no cats, just the broken rib), one pain pill with a prescription for more and then something that looked like a plastic toy to suck air out of 10 times an hour to help keep my lungs dry.

My boss drove me home and when I called Jackie to tell her we were on our way I could tell from her voice that she was still pretty shook up. When I arrived home we hugged as much as one can with a broken rib. All my kids phoned to see how I was and later that night my daughter Ceci and her husband Dave, who was going to preaching that next Sunday about the laying on of hands came over to pray and lay hands on me for healing.

Two days later I was back at it with the usual good assortment of mostly adults, many that did not
speak English, needing to get their driver's license. Funny, for the next couple of days only a third made it as far as the Freeway.

Did I tell you? It's nice to be alive.

Although I am doing great and as I write have not needed any pain pills for the last 2 days Jackie is still watching me with an eagle eye. At the end of church Sunday there was a time where people could come forward to be ministered to by the prayer teams. We were also encouraged to pray and lay hands for any around us who requested. Immediately (before I could request it) I was surrounded by my wife and two daughters who wanted not only to pray for me but I think also to soak me with their love.

Um hum. It's nice to be alive.