Things we take for granted...

Tonight I was perusing blogs for neat clothing ideas when I ran across this blog. Excited that I had hit the mother load I began scrolling through the posts. At the top of one of the posts, that I almost didn't read, there was a link to this blog. So, of course, curiosity got the best of me. Who was this baby that had fallen into a canal and what had become of her? I began reading the blog of this poor family who very unexpectedly lost their daughter when she fell into a canal. There were so many things that struck me about this blog, besides the obvious tragedy.

The first thing I noticed was the fact that in the midst of all this poor young couples pain they still give glory to Jesus and used the tragedy and their blog to reach out and explain Jesus to those of us who may have stumbled upon them out of morbid curiosity. The other thing that got my attention and had me crying so hard that I actually had to go outside and get fresh air was the normalcy of this blog. Only days before the tragedy this lovely young mother was regaling her friends and family with little Preslee's first trip to a splash pad and then days later little Preslee was in a hospital fighting for her life.

There are several reasons that this post hit home for me. The very obvious reason was that I of course thought of my own children and how quickly they can be taken from me and how I should make the most out of every moment I have with them.

The second, which still has me choked up, is how much it reminded me of how lucky I am. It has taken me 4 years to actually come to terms with how drastically different my life could have been. 4 years ago this past June Kamryn jumped into a swimming pool and for all intents and purposes drowned. Only by the grace of God was she discovered under the water, resuscitated, and gotten to a hospital with little to no injury. To some this is an old story. I've told it a hundred times, with almost the same reverence as I've told the story of how Kamryn was chased around the room by a friends dog hanging on her diaper.

When I first went to the hospital and spent those 2 long weeks with Kamryn recovering in the hospital I took it all in stride. I did what needed to be done and when we were out I filed it into the back of my mind as just another thing we made it through.

You hear everyday of children who drowned who weren't nearly as lucky as we were. Every time I hear one of those stories I thank God that it wasn't me on the other end of that story. But, it wasn't until reading this poor little baby's story that the gravity of the situation hit me. almost 5 YEARS LATER. My little girl almost died and it was truly a miracle from God that she is still with us today. And how have I repaid God's favor. Well, I haven't, not even close. Most of the time my kids seem to get in my way more than I appreciate the fact that I should be thankful that they're even there to be underfoot. Most of the time I whine and cry to God about the things he hasn't done for me or hasn't given to me, that I forget to take the time to thank him for the things that I have. I will definitely begin looking at things from a new perspective and new heart from today on...