Was it the luck of the ...

...Irish, draw, rabbits foot, salt over the shoulder, Friday the 13th, prayed up or spared?

Friday the 13th of February, JB got the call no parent wants,"Your daughter has been in a car accident and won't make it through the night."

Pray first, put pants on second. We left at midnight to drive the 800+ miles on Valentine's Day. No time for romance and cards, it was crackers and peanut butter and smoked oysters that left a smelly, greasy stain on the passenger's plastic floor mat. Daylight revealed the oil had spread to the shape of a heart.

Hour by hour the details unfolded. Brandi was riding with a girlfriend on the narrow, twisted roads of Mississippi. The white line is about 2" from the edge and the shoulders aren't graveled. The driver went off the road and over corrected causing the car to flip end over end. Brandi was pinned beneath in the mud.

A nearby homeowner heard the crash, slipped into her shoes and ran to the scene dialing 911. Brandi's face was in the windshield on the outside of the car. The frame of the door rested on her neck. She wasn't breathing, believed dead. The engine was smoking. The woman helped the driver out and away.

Chuck, a Deputy Sheriff, happened upon the scene and organized volunteers to lift the car off Brandi. She took two deep breaths. An ambulance rushed both girls to the hospital. Doctors told the family Brandi would not make it. The driver had a broken wrist and torn ligaments at her knee.

Brandi's vitals stabilized. Too foggy for a helicopter, an ambulance transferred her to Elvis Presley Trauma Center in Memphis, TN where people go to die. Non-responsive, doctors again said she would not make it.

We arrived at the hospital at 2 pm. Little John warned us about the size of her head: basketball or watermelon. But she was awake and asking the same question over and over. More tests. At Elvis's wall outside ICU, the line of concerned family and friends grew longer.

Sunday she announced she was hungry. Later in the day she started walking. Monday pm she was dismissed from ICU to go home. Not one miracle, many. Praise theLord! Is luck Divine intervention?

2009 Red Convertible Travel Series

WESTROADS MALL - Where is the good?

Omaha, Nebraska, December 5, 2007, tragedy at home. Not a war. Not a terrorist. A disturbed young man who wanted everyone to know it. Our Governor Heineman has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff through Sunday.

We were on West Dodge road when seven patrol cars with lights and sirens blaring charged in from the South scattering traffic ahead of us. It had to be horrific to draw that many cops. Our first thought was about President Bush's visit. Not knowing for sure, there was only one thing to do: pray for the Lord to take command of the situation, and call Silent Unity.

Where is the good in killing people at Von Maur?  We have to look for it. We find out what we're made of. People pulled together. Police and fire fighters did their best. Strangers helped strangers. In addition to our prayers and the prayers of many, Silent Unity is providing round-the-clock prayer for thirty days. You too can call them at 1-800-NOW-PRAY. There can't be too many prayers, and none are wasted.

Life. Precious. Not to be taken for granted. To be lived as if this is our last day. When I walk close with the Lord, I am able to get through anything. Do whatever works for you. God Bless.

copyright 2007 Red Convertible Travel Series