A Dad's Rite of Passage

Yesterday was my daughter's "first day/job interview/job shadow/meet-the-moms" all-in-one.  I hadn't been nervous until just before she left.  Suddenly, I started spouting out all these mom-isms like "act professional", "be friendly", "don't chat with friends"......I'm sure that wasn't what she needed right before she left.  I would have said even more, but she was going to be late if I went on and on.  As soon as she left, I started praying.  I even wondered if she would get in an accident and be late.  I prayed against all those thoughts.  I prayed against my pride knowing if she didn't do well it might reflect badly on me!  So self-centered I was sounding!

Only about 20 minutes or so after she left the phone rang.  I wondered immediately if it was her.  I didn't want it to be her.  If it was her, then that meant she was either lost or something had happened.  It was her.

"Mom?" Oh no.  She sounded upset.

"Don't worry. I'm ok."  Why would she say she was ok?

"I hit a car.  Just a small dent.  I don't know what to do......"  In my head I'm thinking "What!!?  On the highway???"

Instead, I quickly gathered my thoughts and just started thanking God she was ok and not dead. 

Right away I told her it was going to be ok and this was a test we could pass.  I knew Satan wanted her first morning ruined.  Mine ruined.  My husband's.  I quickly got RM and explained the situation.  He helped her through it.

Within an hour or two, she was back on the road, at the job, meeting people and fully recovered.  We will somehow deal with the other person's car.

I'm so glad I have people to call on when these things happen.  I sent out a family email asking for prayer and everyone did that.  The calmness that came over all of us was amazing.  None of us were freaking out.  It didn't matter even if there were a major bill coming.  We knew we would be ok.  We really were able to see it as something that in God's sovereignty He had allowed to happen and we just needed to accept that.  It helped to explain to RM that this was not something new.  My Dad had gone through this more than once before with me in particular.  I'm sure it is a rite of passage for Dad's with teenage daughters.  I quickly explained to him that my Dad had handled it very well and really had been more concerned with the fact I was ok...hint, hint....  Yes, inside he was probably less than happy with me, but he was very careful to communicate concern and not anger in those moments.  I was grateful!  I want my daughter to have that same memory!  And she will....RM handled it great. Whew!

It does seem like just about every day we come across one challenge or another.  This one was a big one, but it could have been sooooo much worse.  It happened at low speed, in traffic, not at high speed involving multiple vehicles.  No one was hurt.  It wasn't a Mercedes that she hit, just a Civic.  I know she had angels all around her.

We wake up each morning.  We don't know how to pray, but we just do, asking Him to give us His grace to handle what is ahead.  With this accident it adds a little uncertainty to the financial situation, but God's grace can handle that, too.  If He somehow allowed it to happen, He will somehow help us find the money to pay for it.  I rest in that and just keep going.