Unexpected development!

Update on yesterday's project: the tomatoes have been cooking down, and with the addition of olive oil, fresh garlic and onion, dried mushrooms, Parmesan, crumbled turkey sausage, and herbs--including dried basil from our garden-- I think we have the makings of spaghetti sauce! Can't decide whether to can it or serve it sometime this week. It just keeps on bubbling in the crockpot meanwhile.

12:30 p.m. Good afternoon, as Steve and I have just returned from completing today's project: delivering his Saturn Vue to our son's fiancee preparatory to her and Kriss' honeymoon drive up the coast next week. The Lord had warned me during my journalling time this morning about a possible rear-end collision, and to be alert. (At that moment I believed this referred to the general stop-and-go traffic on the 91, 55 and 405 freeways on the way to Long Beach).

We left at 9:45, Steve following me in his Saturn, and traffic went smoothly, except for Corona, of course. We came to a stop at the bottom of our offramp, Long Beach Blvd, and BAM! Steve had rear-ended me while I waited for traffic to clear to make the left turn to Marisela's work! With God-given and God-prepared calm, I turned left when traffic permitted, and parked at the community center. Steve parked next to me and we surveyed the damage, other than to my neck which hurt already. (Good thing I wasn't any other driver!) My Jeep Liberty, trusty tank that it is, was unharmed, but the Saturn's light assembly on the driver's side was knocked loose, with some definite dents in the hood and fender. "Mercury vs. Mercury!" I thought and immediately dismissed that idea--can you imagine what would happen to our premiums?!!

I went inside to speak with Marisela for a bit, so she wouldn't come out and (rightfully) say, "What happened?" and shared that the Lord had prepared me. We went on out to the car. Praise report: the Saturn's headlights are still okay, so she won't get a ticket, and her brother's business is capable of repairing the slight damage to the car's body. My neck? Well, it's not like I haven't been rear-ended about 6-7 times in the last decade! It's just tough to write my Galatians study with a sore neck and headache, and even toughter to squeeze in the chiropractic appointments I'll need in this very hectic week!

Now we had to come to the decision we have been putting off: Steve surrendering his driver's license for a State ID card. My husband is already on disability for early-onset Alzheimer's, inherited from his family, but he has been able to drive to three or four designated nearby places the last few months. Otherwise I drive, not an extra job I very willingly picked up, because, like many of us passengers of the female gender, I was used to doing my lipstick, reading, rummaging through my purse, napping, snacking and generally relaxing while my hubby drove! In earlier years, Steve's driving enabled me to be "hands-free" to turn around and stop fights in the back seat, hand out snacks, and perform a million other tasks moms perform on family outings, vacations, and even just on the way to church.

After we were back on the road to Riverside and nerves were settled, I asked Steve, "Now that you've had a little more time to think about it, are you really, really, REALLY sure you are ready to give up your license?" (This was not necessarily going to be his choice, but I wanted him to have a peace about giving up yet another vestige of his independence). Steve unhesitatingly said, "yes." I'm awed by his humility, but challenged to think about what it means to be almost totally dependent on another.

As each day unfolds in the tragi-comedy of this life, I realize that that is where I am, and so are all of us believers in Christ! The difference? I am not almost totally dependent on my almighty Another, I am totally dependent on Him. And for a naturally very independent person, at last I am thankful to be in that place today!