A Slightly Bigger Adventure...

I love adventures and detours, most times......

Sunday evening, my older brother Justin, his girlfriend Kristen, and I were heading back to school after spending a great weekend at home.

As we were leaving the thriving metropolis of Kingston, Michigan, we drove by a cemetery where one of Justin's high school classmates is buried.  She was killed in a car accident a few years before.  Justin then told us the story of how he had a dream of that exact same thing happening to the very person it happened to just a couple weeks before the accident occurred.  It mentally jarred me for the next few minutes, until I received a text message that jarred me even more.

One of my close friends from high school, who is currently in Guatemala, received word that her uncle had just passed away.  I read the message a few more times to make sure I was reading it correctly before reading aloud to my brother, who then told me to relay the message to my parents.  For the next little while, I tried getting more information for my parents and brother and for my own mental comfort.  The night didn't stop there.

About 15 minutes after receiving the news, I was comfortable enough to begin drifting off to sleep, when a giant thud shook the car.  Now all three of us in the car were freaking out.  I didn't see it, but a large doe literally ran itself into the driver's side of the car.  Justin pulled over in a nearby driveway to examine the extent of the damage.  Compared to most deer accidents, the damage was not that bad: there was a dent that spread from the front tire to the middle of the driver's side door, and the door was not as cooperative when it came to opening.  However, the car was still legally drivable, nothing was missing, there was no shattered or broken glass, and no one was hurt.  After some time of cooling off, in a figurative and literal sense, we proceeded to get a police report, and then to finish our trip back to school.  I was on edge for the next half hour, but calmed down enough to enjoy the rest of the ride.

No one was hurt, and it's something that we can look back on and kinda laugh a little, but it was enough to make me think about what I truly value.

God certainly has His ways of kicking us in the pants...  

A Little Adventure

One very effective method that I use to remember something is to simply do it and get it done on the spot.  I received an e-mail from my art professor for the class I took in January about getting my drawing pad back (he took them at the end of the semester for grading purposes).  So, instead of putting on a to-do list, I got up and walked across campus to the art building to get it.  I remembered from the e-mail that the box with the drawing pads was by a coat rack, which confused me because when I walked in the main door, I did not see a coat rack, or a box of drawing pads for that matter.  Isn't the main door usually where coat racks go?  I went back outside and looked through the other entrance, but still no coat rack.  I stood outside for a few moments and tried to remember exactly what was said in the e-mail, but had no luck.  There was more to it than just the coat rack bit.

I was determined to get my drawing pad, but I wasn't prepared to walk all the way across campus back to my room to re-check the e-mail.  So, I made my way towards the library.  I figured I could simply slip in front of a Mac, check my e-mail again, and receive the rest of the information.

I walked in and found a vacant Mac (I didn't want to use a PC because they can be rather slow on getting started, and I was much too impatient to wait for that).  As I was about to log in, I looked up and was surprised to see a good friend of mine working on the computer right in front of the one I was about to use.  She was clearly zoned into what she was doing, but I pulled her out of it with a simple, "Hey Mel!" Mel and I had recently finished acting in a show together, which was such a blast, but I haven't interacted with most of the people from the cast very much since the show's conclusion.  We were friends beforehand, but the show served as a catalyst to solidify a great friendship; one that anyone in their right minds wouldn't dream of losing.

She looked up from her work and gave a little gasp of surprise.  We hugged and talked a little bit about how we were doing since the show got over with.  Then I remembered that Mel is an art major and she might know details about the art building that would help me retrieve my drawing pad!  I read the original e-mail to her and she was able to give me directions to where I needed to go (the coat rack is in a hallway in the middle of the building...).  So I said thanks, hugged her again, told her how much I missed our interactions and left to complete my original mission.  I re-entered the art building and followed her directions, which led me right to the coat rack, with the box of drawing pads right next to it.

The best part of this story was not me finding my drawing pad.  It was the fact that an adventure was created out of a simple notion to get something out of the way.  There was nothing routine about it.  And I was able to see a friend who I've grown closer to and, oh my, happened to know exactly what I needed to do to accomplish my simple goal of retrieval.

I believe that God loves to use the little moments to get a message across.  Who knows what that message was at the time, but I was reminded of how blessed I truly am.  :)

"To Be Called Home"

This story is probably one of the most spiritually influential stories of my life. So I figured it would be appropriate for the first one I tell. 

It was about 11:30, and I had just texted my close friends that it looked like my grandpa was going to make it through the night. I, along with my brother Justin, had left camp only hours before. We arrived at the nursing home sometime after 8, and at that time, the room was filled with family and friends. Grandpa was lying on his bed with an oxygen mask to his face. Next to him was my grandma, and on the other side of him, my mother. My mom had spent years doing everything she could to take care of her parents. Now it seemed that it all was boiling down to this night.

As time progressed, a sense of comfort fell over the room, and people slowly began to head home for the night. By 11:00, everyone had gone aside from Justin, my parents, and me. My grandpa was resting and we began to discuss about heading home, getting some rest ourselves, and coming back in the morning. It was at that time when I sat down and sent an update to my friends.

However, shortly after I sent the update, something went wrong. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but my grandpa’s breathing had changed. It was a little after midnight and the nurse came back to check him. She looked up and told my mother to call the family, because his breathing would not sustain him much longer.

The only thing that I can recall with detail was the wave of emotions that hit next. Take extreme sorrow and grief and mix it with a sense of joy. For the past five years, I had been prepared for this. But at this moment, was I truly ready? Not only was everything boiling down for my mother, but for me as well. At around 12:30, his breathing became really slow to the point where it was about to give out.

All I could do was watch, cry, and pray. As time was winding down, I found myself quietly praying through my tears, “Go home, grandpa. Just go home.” Then something happened, something that everyone in the room noticed. His eyes became like they were glazed and wide open, and his head tilted upward. At that moment, he breathed his last.

I can say, in that place and moment in time, I had just witnessed my grandpa going home to be with his Savior.

It's A Blog!

I've never blogged before. I received the inspiration to start one after reading from a friend's. As I was reading, I recalled to my memory the fact that I love stories. I love reading stories, hearing stories, and telling stories. So, I figured, why not tell some of them on a blog of my own?

I have no idea how this is going to turn out. It may end up falling on its face. But I'm going to try it. It will be a brand new experience for me.

If it turns out the way I want it to, the blog will be filled with stories; stories that I heard or read, stories from my own life and experiences, or stories that I make up to get a point across.

So here goes nothing! :)