I’LL MAKE THIS QUICK.
No Bible blog today. Here’s why.
I got a 1-minute phone call from my daughter, Rebecca, at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday.
“I had a wreck. I tried to call Jon [fiancé] but he’s not answering. I think I totaled the car. Can you come and get me?”
“Mom’s out shopping in your area. I’ll call her and see where she is. The closest one to you will come.”
I called my wife. She was just a few miles away.
When she heard that Jon didn’t pick up, she said, “Did you hear that JJ’s Restaurant on the Plaza blew up?”
Jon lives in an apartment about a baseball’s throw from JJ’s. One person was killed in that explosion.
I texted Jon:
“Rebecca was in a car accident. She thinks she has totaled her car. Linda is on her way to pick her up.”
Jon called at 7:05. A 2-minute call. He had been with a patient; he’s an eye doc.
My daughter ran into a new SUV that the owner had just driven off the lot. He was able to drive his car home, without the showroom floor finish.
No injuries, thankfully.
My wife doesn’t think our daughter’s car was totaled. The wife has an experienced eye for these things, sadly. Not her fault.
Jon’s apartment was been evacuated.
This morning, my daughter’s car turned up missing. No one seemed to know where it was.
I told Rebecca to relax. She had a HUGE test today, in her graduate studies to become a nurse practitioner. I told her to focus on the test and worry about the car later.
My wife called the dealership to check on the car. It surfaced.
As it turns out, my wife still has the body shop on her speed dial. When the kids lived with us, the body shop personnel knew us on a first-name basis. I remained unimpressed.
That has been our past 24 hours, as I’m sitting here writing this on Wednesday evening.
The news just flashed a few minutes ago.
Another gas leak, with evacuations.
This one about a block from Jon’s medical practice. It’s also a block from the main campus of the church I attend.
The biggest snow storm in years is plowing into town, due in the morning.
I need a cup of hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.
Oh rats. I should check the snow blower first.
[Pause]
Done. It’s locked and loaded.
Feel free to serve up some soothing Bible verses.
I envy your ability to sip a hot cocoa and trust that things will all work out. Sometimes days like this can be overwhelming!
My prayers are with your family and your city. We had gas explosions here in Knoxville and I had numerous car accidents myself and it is very hard to get over. I know your daughter will do just fine. What a blessing that God has a wonderful church (Church of the Resurrection) to help the people there. You and your family are dear to my heart and thanks for sharing Stephen.
Thank you both for your kindness. Things have calmed down today. 12 inches of snow can have that effect.