The Impact of an Accident

This blog is actually less about the accident and more about the impact of that accident (pun intended)....

Mr brother, Grant, and his friends were on their way to California for spring break this week and got into a car accident on the way. Before you panic, everything is okay, but the car they were driving is now inoperable. They were coming up from Tucson on I-10 through Phoenix and got into the fender bender at the same exit you would take to get to my house. Kind of crazy right? My brother called me to see if I could pick them up while they figure out the plan. I was not able to to do because we're down to one car and Mandi was out with it at that time.

Side note: We're down to one car because my other brother, Andrew, is using our Corolla while his car gets fixed in a body shop - yes, he was in an accident too (not his fault though)

The boys ended up throwing around a football in a truck stop parking lot waiting for Andrew to pick them up when he got done with one of his clients. The whole group came over to watch the Arizona-Colorado PAC-12 Championship game (I'd rather not talk about it). It was of course nice to watch that game with both of my brothers and was the first time this season I was able to do so (usually it's just Andrew and I).

The car got towed back down to Tucson and then the following day, Andrew took the whole group to a mid-point between Phoenix and Tucson so they could get a ride back home.

Soooo, what was the point of all that? If you're still reading, thank you for bearing with me. Here's the point: Grant called me a couple of nights ago bumming out about his spring break trip being ruined because of the accident. He asked if he could drive back up to Phoenix and just spend the week with Mandi and I. Uhhhh, yeah!!! See what happened there?

Grant might not be doing exactly what he thought he'd be doing this week, but he's still having a great time. We've been able to hang out a bunch in the last couple of days, and do some stuff together that rarely get the chance to do. He really likes gardening, and it just so happened that this week was the week that I was setting my all up for the spring/summer! My brother Andrew helped me get started on Monday and then Tuesday, Grant helped me knock it out. Sometimes, even though things don't happen or workout the exact way we were picturing, they still tend to workout. I know that Grant is enjoying himself and we are certainly feeling very blessed to have him around.

Which leads me to my final point - there are times in our lives that may seem like a low point, but we must remember that it can still be an opportunity to bless others. Sure, I was bummed that Grant wasn't able to go out to California for spring break, BUT I feel so lucky that I get to spend the week with him. His misfortune has turned out to be a blessing to me and my family and, as I believe he'd agree, him also.

It's so easy to get stuck into thinking about how are present situation is affecting us, and us alone. It's a big world out there though. We may be going through a bad season for the sole purpose of showing someone else a good season in their life. Something in our life may become a burden only to lighten the load of someone else. It's always good to take a step back and look at various ways our own struggles can actually positively impact the lives of others. 

If we're able to do that, we just may see our car accident as a huge blessing.