I write with a heart full of gratitude that God saw fit to save the lives of my two kids while they were driving home to Virginia today.
They say the best posts are written with strong emotion.
This is that post.
I have been planning to do a series of posts on preparing your home and family for emergencies, or crisis situations.
Today that resolve was driven home when I received a text this morning from my daughter, Jillian, that she and her husband had just totaled their car on an icy highway in Ohio.
This kind of a call is every mom’s nightmare.
So I start out my series telling you about their accident.
I got a text from Jillian and Taylor at 8:30 this morning telling me they had to be dug out of their sister’s driveway before leaving this morning, then a couple of hours later a text telling me they ended up in a ditch for 45 minutes, but fortunately a stranger kindly dug them out and helped them on their way.
Next, I received a text telling me the roads were icy at about 10:30.
Then I got a text saying shortly thereafter, “We are fine. Safe in a cop’s car. But we got in an accident. Spun off the highway. Not sure if the car is okay.”
My heart is full. I am so thankful God took care of my kids and I didn’t get the call that they were gone from my life.
Things like that bring you back to “Ground Zero.”
All of a sudden nothing else matters but those you care about.
Bills don’t matter. Goals don’t matter. Nothing else matters – your kids are safe!
We can always get cash for damaged cars, everything else is gravy.
These things mattered:
- They had family they could call.
- My son-in-law talked them through the first few minutes after the accident.
- Mark and I along with Taylor’s family supported them through the process of making plans and getting back on the road.
- Jillian’s cousins offered their place for the night.
- We had friends and family praying for them.
- God loved my kids enough to make sure they stayed safe through it all.
- My kids know God as their Protector and gave Him credit.
Family and Friends. Friends and Family! FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!!
So let’s talk about what we can do for those around us and even ourselves when there is a crisis.
Storms, illness, financial crisis, danger, loss in general.
Are we prepared?
Is our life in order to the point where we can be there for others in crisis?
Emergency Fund: Kick Murphy Out
Nine Ways to Build an Emergency Fund
Our first experience with the Dave Ramsey program was through his book: The Total Money Makeover.
I look all around me and see people over-extending themselves – to enjoy the America dream isn’t to have things, but to be free to enjoy what we do have.
I see people living as though no crisis could come.
Darlin’ it’s just around the corner, trust me.
My kids are alive and well, sitting in a hotel room tonight, thanking God for their safety.
Life is good.
I am one grateful Mama tonight.
So glad the kids are safe, this is a GREAT post! Thanks for linking up!
Thanks, Steph. Their experience kicked off the series and we are making changes at our home – emergency bags for our car and home are a priority now.
I'm so glad that your kids are okay. Life can truly change in the blink of an eye.
We try to prepare for emergencies. We've got a small savings fund stashed away for a rainy day, and we keep supplies on hand for hurricanes (which, in Charleston, is the most likely of natural disasters to occur). Still, it's hard to ever be truly prepared when something goes awry!
I'm glad to hear that your kids are okay. I definitely am trying to get in the position where I'm debt free and also have a nest egg built up too. It's not something that can happen overnight though. Right now, we're dealing with a sticky situation too. Great post.
Crystal, I’m working on an emergency fund but it’s not easy, for sure. There’s always something that comes up to take your money! My goal is $5000 – a big goal but very necessary.
Glad your kids are okay – I think something happening to your children is every mothers biggest fear. Love Dave Ramsey – it is such a comfort to have that emergency fund in place and know that you are ready in case something happens!
Pam, yes, I often think about how my kids travel a lot and pray for their safety. I have a bunch of them all over the country – even in Hawaii!
I'm so glad your family is okay!!!
Thanks, Rebecca! Thanks for visiting.
Thank God for His protecting hand on your kids! Thankfully my husband and I agreed to live like no one else with Dave Ramsey's plans. We were prepared with a fund built up when we needed a new boiler, when our refrigerator went out, and when our car broke down. Prior to getting our finances in order any one of those things would have set us way back. Great post with important advice!
Thanks Becky. It’s hard to live like no one else so later we can live like no one else, but working on it! It IS worth it!
My heart drops everytime I get a call from the school. Wondering if my child is ok… I get it. And I appreciate your recognizing the money part of this. After my mom's death, I was amazed at how much it all cost and they are still coming in on little things. Money is huge and sometimes it takes something major to help us see it… and I appreciate your links and information.
vwbug, we raised 15 kids and got calls and had a crisis every day it seems. Oh the stress of raising kids! Money is huge and we have to be careful how we manage it. I’m still learning!
I am so glad everyone is safe!
Praise the mighty hand of God for keeping your children safe. I can totally relate to the feeling which overwhelms us when something bad happens to someone we love. I'm going to follow you on social media so I can read your series, sounds very relevant.
Thanks for stopping by, Shirley. Yes, every time I think about how we could have lost our kids I thank God for His hand. But, I am working at being more prepared so I am ready as much as possible.
This is such an important post. Very heartfelt, but I also really like the inherent message–we need to be prepared! One of my good friends just did a YouTube video tutorial about her cold storage area in her basement . Wow! Just watching this made me realize, I need to be soooo much better about stocking up. You NEVER know when something crazy could happen. Thank you for the reminder!
Liz, I’ll checkout your friend’s Youtube video. There is so much to learn and even more to do. It seems the more I read and learn the more I see how unprepared I am!
So glad your kids are ok!
We're working on an emergency fund here too. Dave Ramsey is a wise man!
Tonia, thanks for your comments – I hope the word about Dave Ransey and his financial advice spreads. America needs a tune up!
I am so glad that your children are safe and sound. Thank God for sure! I look forward to exploring your site. When I saw the name Dave Ramsey, I knew your blog was for me. We are big Dave Ramsey followers. We still have a long way to go, but with his teachings, we are better than we once were.
Angie, thanks for stopping by. Reading Dave Ramsey’s books and listening to his CDs have helped open our eyes to how careless we were living. We’re working at it too, slow but sure!
So glad your children are OK. I agree, we all need to be more prepared for a potential crisis. Watching the news is downright depressing
Tamara, we do what we can and don’t worry about the rest. I’m working at what I can when I can. I seldom watch the news, like you said, too depressing!
Praise GOD! What a day… Every morning when I wake up, I pray to all of our Guaridan Angels to watch over us and protect us… So glad your children had someone watching over them!
You know, this hit home today. I live in Wisconsin and we're experiencing another winter storm. I skipped a meeting I was supposed to cover an hour away because I just didn't feel right about driving if it wasn't a must-attend event. On Monday the roads were white-out and it was terrifying driving back from the sitter's. I think your series looks great so I'll definitely follow along. It's so hard for me with two kids in diapers to find ways to save money or be prepared more. It is a cause of anxiety for me often. Thanks for sharing!
I'm so very glad that your loved ones weren't injured! This winter has been a terrible one weather-wise for so much of the country. You hear about accidents all the time. What an excellent post this is! We all need to be very grateful for so many reasons more often – and we also need to be more aware of ways we can be prepared to help others. I think these two things fit hand in hand perfectly and I thank you for sharing this post! 😀
That must have been a really scary time for you as it would be for any mom. Thanks for being willing to share it with the rest of us so we can be prepared and prepare our loved ones.
My heart went out to you as I was reading this. My daughter lives in the mountains and everytime I think about her driving on those roads, especially in winter, my heart does a skip. I have been blessed with a 2nd husband who is a whiz at budgeting and we have almost always been able to help out our children when they were in need.
My goodness, that is so scary! Thankfully, they are both okay.
"Everything else is gravy."
I LOVE THAT!
What a day you had! That's quite a lot to deal with all in one day. It is certainly every parent's nightmare to hear those kinds of things from their children. Thank goodness that, when all was said and done, they were okay. I've only ever been in one car accident. We had the right of way, and when we got to the middle of the intersection, this crazy lady decided to try to drive through, and smashed the doors in on the side in the process. There is one nearly fatal experience I had while in a car as a child. My biological father was having a moment of insanity, and we were making a 2-hour trip to Target in the nearest large city. The roads are widy there, as they're in the mountains, and there was a lot of snow. He thought it was funny when we were sliding around on the road, so he was intentionally making the car spin on the road. I kid you not. The third time he did it, the car went halfway over the edge of the road (it was a FAR way down, might I add). We all got out of the car and luckily there was a tow truck just feet away to help a stalled car, so they helped get the car back on the road and we proceeded on our trip. Probably the scariest moment of my life thus far!
Lalia, thanks for visiting. I’m glad you made it out of that accident ok. We are a sum total of our experiences, aren’t we? Even the bad experiences can teach us something and change us, hopefully for the better. I’ve been in several scary situations and each one led me to a decision that changed my life for the better.
So glad The Lord protected them!
I imagine you are quite a bit more prepared than we are but yes we do what we can to be prepared. Thank you for this reminder though because there are certainly things I could do better. Praise the Lord for protecting your family.
Wow. So glad everyone is okay. I totally agree. We're actually working through the total money makeover during our MISSION POSSIBLE project. Would love to have you join us!
I would like to hear more about the Mission Possible project.
This is such a heartfelt story, thank you for sharing! I'm really glad your kids are safe.
So glad your family is okay, and that's great that you've used this experience to make sure you're prepared.
I'm glad everyone was ok. I know what you mean about nothing else matters until you know your loved ones are safe! My church teaches a Dave Ramsey course which I've been wanting to attend. I think now is the time. Thanks for sharing.
Tanya, thanks. I highly recommend you joing that you do join that Ramsey Course. His books really opened my eyes.
So glad everyone is save. Some good tips and honesty here. Thank you for sharing. Would jus suggest having your posts adjacent to the left instead of everything centered – would make it easier to read.
I'm glad your family is safe. It's sad that it takes something so horrible to make us reflect on what is truly important and we are prepared for a disaster. My Mum had emergency kits when I lived at home. Sad to say I haven't organized my own snce moving out, but this post is a good reminder to do so. Thank you for sharing.
Great post. Keeping what really matters in life at the front of your mind is the best way to reduce stress and manage uncertainty. Glad everything worked out.
This is definitely a timely series–we were gifted with Dave Ramsey's financial freedom seminar for our recent wedding.
And, it's important to plan for physical emergencies too, so I really appreciate the heads up.
Please stay safe in the winter climates–I am going to add a few more bottles of water to each of our cars, along with confirming our fluids are in the cars (we live in California).
Nicole, I wish I had planned better from day one of our marriage. Live and learn. Few people, I think, plan for a crisis and fewer put back $$ for a rainy day. California is a good deal warmer than here in Wisconsin! I bet you’re glad you’re there and not here where we have loads of snow!
I love the concept of margin which allows you to prepare for emergencies. Sometimes it seems almost impossible to do much on that but at least keeping it in mind helps us to work towards that. Glad you kids are okay.
Thanks, Jennifer. I work at having margins in my life, but too often forget and over schedule, say “yes,” too often instead of “no” as I should. Life gets crazy and then I remember, “Oh, yeah, keep a margin!”
Accidents can be extremely scary! We were caught in the snow storm last week and weren't even sure we should continue on traveling! So glad your daughter and SIL are ok.
Jennifer @ The Jenny Evolution
Jennifer, we’ve had a lot of that type weather here in Wisconsin lately too. I’m working on a bag for my car with blankets, water, etc.
Dave Ramsey is pretty popular saving money and paying off debts.
I've gotten that call. For a moment, you can't breathe. Thankfully your kids (and mine) were alright!
Thank you for this post! It is a great reminder to us all that lifeis fragile.
Amazing story, Val. You are right about focusing on the important things in life ~ people. I'm so happy to hear that everything turned out alright.
I am so happy everyone was okay. I can't imagine how you felt. Though, i cant imagine why they would feel the need to continue on when they had been stopped so many times before the big accident. Definitely a lesson in listening to the signs that the Lord gives us, listening for His voice will only benefit us if we obey it 🙂
I appreciate your comment, Marisa. These two young people have overcome a lot of obstacles in their short lives and have a different perspective than most their age (22). They are very in tune to the Spriit’s leading and always ask our advice in these type situations, often changing their plans based on our advice (pretty unusual for kids these days!). That said, I am confident they do listen to the Lord’s small, still voice and have learned there is benefit when they obey. In hindsight, we all see what God was doing with the “big accident” and can actually thank God for orchestrating it that day. Remember Paul Harvey’s, “The rest of the story.” This one is no different. There is “The rest of the story” here too – God took away but blessed them with something much better along with a greater understanding that when we endure something we think is “bad,” we can see how it wasn’t bad at all – for we gained so much from the experience that we are a changed person, even if the change is small and insignificant to others. We are a culmination of our experiences and our reactions to them. They learned more about God through it all and He replaced what they lost with something much better. Thanks for commenting!
Thank God your kids are safe. Thanks for the resource links. I have been doing little things to prepare for crisis, but should do more.
I am glad they are safe and gave the credit to God! He is the protector for us all.
Glad everyone is ok! I know that had to be scary for them and for you!
So happy to hear of their safety.
Going to forward this article to my friends to let them know about this–so they can plan ahead. Thank you!
I am so glad that they are okay! What a scary experience. We love Dave Ramsey and what he teaches – thanks for the good reminder!
Thank you for linking up to Front Porch Friday…and SO thankful kids were ok!