With Gratitude and Thankfulness

It's a big week for our family.  My nephew, seen above, is getting married!  Yay!  John is the second of my sister's four sons and two daughters (one seen in this pic and one seen below) and he is the first to get married in her family.  So this is a really big deal!  

John and Calvin have always been buddies - John was a year older than Cal and most of their time spent together was John telling crazy long stories and Calvin laughing until he cried.  They really love each other.  Calvin is doing a scripture reading in the wedding and I know he is thrilled to be a part of John's big day.

This is Katherine - we call her Kat.  She is the new addition to the family and truth be known, we claimed her years ago!  She is sweet and fun - and is definitely motherly to the other boys.  I've heard her put them in their place many times, so I know she can hold her own with them!  She is holding my sister's youngest daughter.  

So, all this to say, by next Saturday night, our family will have grown a bit.  We could not be happier and more thankful for such a wonderful couple. But this is not why I have gratitude and thanksgiving this morning...

This is another one of my sister's sons - the youngest, Patrick. He just graduated from Grand Valley University and is preparing to enter law school.  He's a real tender heart and I know will fight for the rights of those he serves once he gets through with his education.  

Last night, Dave and I were settled in for another episode of River Monsters (our summer viewing choice) when the phone rang.  I'll make a long story short - Patrick was about an hour and a half north of us in Ludington, meeting some friends to camp for the weekend, when he got in an accident.  He was pulling out of a Taco Bell and his vision was blocked by another car turning into Taco Bell and he basically was broadsided by a truck going 55 mph into his driver's door.  Actually, just a bit in front of the door and that's what saved his life.

Because of how life works, Aunt Kristen was the only one he could find at home and Dave and I went north to get him.  We didn't really even know the whole story but about half way up there we were able to get hold of my sister who started calling the police and was able to let us know how serious the accident actually was.  There was one casualty - Patrick's dog didn't survive the accident and though we are so thankful that Patrick is safe, this was a sad consequence.

All this to say, we were able to find his car, get his belongings and get him home. The car was shockingly totaled.  Once I saw the car, my heart dropped into my stomach and all I could say over and over was, Thank you, Lord.  What was intended to be a week of celebration could have easily been a week of mourning.

I love my nephew and spent much of the night thanking the Lord for sparing his life.  I just wanted to share with you, my friends, today, that God is a God of miracles and blessings.  The fact that Patrick walked away from that accident, as well as the three teen-aged boys in the truck, is nothing less than a miracle. All the glory goes to the Lord - there are no near misses or coincidences.  He is in control.

Pray for Patrick and the family - please pray for healing - he's really going to be sore this week and they have a lot on their plate.  This is truly a week of celebration - a life saved and a union added!