NEVER A DULL MOMENT

and so it continues...

It's nice to get to church early for a change...no rushing around. I guess letting Sarah go up to Potsdam with Ashley to visit Rose wasn't such a bad idea after all. It sure simplified my morning routine after Dave left. It was just me and John...

...I was thinking as the cell phone rang. I was nearly at church. Even though I answered immediately, I still saw a missed call signal from Rose. Hmmm. I pushed the call back button, and there she was, "...we went off the road...sob...silence." The next thing I heard was a familiar voice saying, "Hello, Mrs. Maxon..." followed by Mike's brief explanation behind the previous few words that Rose had managed to share.

The kids had gone off the road on their way to my sister's church Christian Fellowship Center (Ashley was distracted for a second and suddenly everything was out of her control). They entered a ditch and struck a culvert and a reflector pole (the folks behind them were surprised the car didn't flip because it looked like it would, and then suddenly didn't). Thank You, Father...

As Mike was explaining what would be happening next, I heard someone in the background crying quite loudly. I asked him who it was, and he told me Ashley, so I asked him to pass Rose's phone to her and spoke with her for a couple of minutes. I then got Mike back and told him I was on my way up, and would be there as soon as possible.

Dear God...I know You're busy being the day of worship and all, but my babies were just in a car accident and I'm so far away...could You help them? Send them Help - keep them safe - fill Ashley with Your Peace, remind her that You will never leave her or forsake her, and that You hold her in the palm of Your hand...

I stopped at church for a few minutes to explain the situation to Dave, and then (surprise) the two of us headed for Potsdam together after making a few more phone calls . He took over as the main phone call receiver after that and I had to settle for listening in on the speaker phone. Mike spoke with us a couple more times as we covered the 90 minute drive, keeping us informed of the ambulance's destination as well as his and Ashley's ride to the hospital with the investigating policewoman.

I'm so glad that the people behind them were from CFC. Rose's concussion symptoms disappeared almost as soon as they prayed. But I can't believe the insurance company says they won't cover the accident because Ashley never took a picture of her car. Father God, would You please do a miracle and minister to Ashley's parents in this whole situation? And could you help me find the phone number of the CFC church so someone can go down there and pick them up off that road? Thank You!

When we arrived we stopped off to provide a hug to Ashley (Me) and personal information (Dave) to the receptionist, spoke to Mike briefly and then hurried in to check on Sarah and Rose. Sarah was just sitting with Rose. They hadn't treated her as she said she had no injuries. She told me she was ok too, she just had a headache. Rose had a large bump on the right side of her head where she had hit the passenger window, but the Dr.'s had decided against X-Rays or a CAT scan. They didn't want to expose her to unnecessary radiation? (Since when?...) They were going to watch her for another forty minutes or so and then she would be probably be released. My sister then came in quite unexpectedly, saying she couldn't stay at church and had to come and check things out for herself. After a few more minutes we went out to bring Ashley and Mike into Rose's ER room.

We stayed out in the waiting room because we were afraid that the ER would object to double the number of visitors. I noticed Ashley had left her purse sitting on the floor with no one around, so I went over and picked it up to take it back in to her. It was vibrating...since Sarah was with us, I had her answer it. She handed it back to me as Ashley parent's were asking for directions to the hospital. I went outside to get better reception and then talked them into the parking lot a few minutes later. I got to meet Ashley's Mom with a hug and reassurance that Rose was doing fine, and that everything would be ok.

We all went back inside where Ashley was waiting. Her Mom gave her a big hug and cried again. I introduced her Dad to my sister Sherry who explained how the insurance problem might be able to be worked out, and then she left to drive them over to where the car was located. My sister and her husband run an Auto repair shop nearby, so she knew the ins and outs of accidents. I found out later that she spent the next two hours with them, finding the car and arranging to have it towed to their shop to avoid the $20 per day storage fee the junkyard was going to be charging. My brother-in-law even came and looked over the damage and gave them an estimate that was half of what the tow place quoted.

We checked Rose out and headed back over to pick up some clothes to bring her home for a couple of days for observation. We dropped Mike back off on the way back to Watertown, and pulled back into home late in the afternoon. After getting Rose and Sarah settled, and Dave off to work, I was to start to get back to normal again.

Father, You do all things well. Thank You that You keep us safe and protect us, that all of Your promises are true in Jesus. That You have a Plan for us that is not at the mercy of Life's circumstances. And that You Love us. Amen.

Then I checked on Mike and went to bed...

Here's my disclaimer for Rose: This post sat in my draft box for 8 days! :) Sorry!