By the way, its my birthday

I had already written out what I wanted to post for my birthday. In fact, I was perfecting it and figuring out what pictures to add as my family drove from Richmond to Williamsburg. You see, last week we were blessed with two free vacations! But before we could claim our vouchers, we had to take a tour of a timeshare resort in Williamsburg. So I took the day off of work and we set out in the morning, late as usual. We had only driven about 20 minutes when Elonzo got sick. We stopped at 7-11 to clean him up and change his clothes. We drove for another 15 minutes or so and Elvis' stomach started to hurt. We stopped at a rest area for awhile. Finally, we were on our way and reached Williamsburg later than we had originally hoped. But we still had time to do a little shopping at the outlet mall. At the mall we were stopped by a man who was representing another timeshare resort. He went on and on and on and almost made us late for our actual timeshare appointment. We got back on the road and drove for about 10 minutes when we realized we had driven too far and missed the exit. Do you sense a theme? SOMETHING was working behind the scenes to stop us from reaching our destination. We got directions and headed back the way we came. I said something like, "We put a deposit on this meeting so let's step on it so we're not too late."

Richmond Road in Williamsburg, VA

Moments later we were swerving to avoid hitting another car and lost control of our own. Time slowed and what was probably only seconds seemed like eternity as we drove into a ditch and spun back out into the rode. It was a steep ditch and a busy street and ONLY the grace of God that kept our car from flipping over or being struck by another moving vehicle. Somehow in those 2 or 3 seconds I remembered to shout "Jesus!" I didn't have time for a prayer but I know that the name of my God is so powerful and that by just speaking it in faith a miracle could happen.

The ditch and our car  being towed. As I post this, I'm thanking God we didn't hit a tree.

My partner, son and I are all okay. We're still a little dazed by the experience and in awe of God for His gift of life. Our car needs some repair but a car is just a material thing. My partner and I have been in a very rough spot the last week or so...lots of arguments, tears, storming out to Waffle House in the middle of the night (thank God for friends who will eat waffles with you at 2am). This accident certainly does not change the nature of what my partner and I were disagreeing about but it does put things into perspective. We never know when its our time to leave this earth. Our days are numbered and its up to us to do what we can with the limited time we have. There is no room for disrespect, there is no room for purposely making another person miserable. There is only room for loving; learning; appreciating; adapting.

A police officer who was called to the scene, gave us a ride to the auto shop. Through the plexiglass window I said, "By the way its my birthday. And I certainly didn't expect to be riding in the back of your patrol car today." The officer laughed and said "Happy Birthday anyway."
I wouldn't say it was a happy birthday. But I was blessed with life twice on April 15th and thats a gift I won't take lightly.

Elonzo's first and prayerfully last police car ride.

Has God ever redirected your path in order for you to learn a lesson?