Gone in 6 seconds

It’s amazing how quickly everything can change.

One minute, you’re walking along, finished with work for the day, thinking about going home and what you’ll do that evening. The next, you’re flat on your back with people staring down at you, asking if you’re OK.

One day, you are independent, driving yourself to work, changing light bulbs, pumping your own gas. The next, you’re dependent on someone else for all the large and small tasks of living, dressing, eating, even opening doors.

A broken right arm makes a difference.

In the past six days, I’ve gained a new appreciation for caregivers, for people with permanent physical limitations, and for God’s incredible timing.

As I lay awake that first night, waiting for the painkillers to kick in, I was filled with gratefulness to God. After all, I reasoned, He knew this accident was going to happen and, for His own purposes, He allowed it. Yet He arranged for my husband, who had been away on business the past month, to be home when it happened, with no trips in the near future.

I am incredibly fortunate. To be loved and cared for by this man, who can make me laugh in spite of the pain. To work with a bunch of praying people who are figuring out how to get things done in my absence. To be part of a wonderful church and Sunday school class who have offered to do whatever we need and who have relieved my husband from having to cook several meals. To be loved by God, Who sometimes forces me to slow down and focus on how suddenly life can change.

God, make me sensitive to the needs of those around me, and remind me every day that today may be the only day we have to meet those needs.