So this weekend the craziest things have happened.
First, as part of a summer internship I’ve been at a Living
history museum, reenacting battles, getting tomahawked and shot. I already
warned my friends and family beforehand that, starting Friday morning, I would
have ZERO cell phone service (thank AT&T for not having service at Historic
Westville) and extremely limited wi-fi from my phone, so I would have basically
no contact with the outside world. I’m feeling pretty good about this as I
trailer my horse 30 miles to the park and begin setting stuff up.
Then, because I technically work for Westville, I receive a
walky-talky to keep in touch with other staff members. I’m setting up, feeling
pretty good about myself, and then suddenly I hear this over the radio.
“Becca flipped her truck. I’m on my way to go get her. She’s
scared, but she called me.”
Finding out that your BEST FRIEND was just in a car accident
that FLIPPED HER TRUCK OVER via walky-talky was a bit much. Now I’m the kind of
person that when I hear traumatic news, I remain calm until it’s completely
processed, which can take a while. It’s a defense mechanism that allows me to
keep everyone else who might be around from freaking out. However, when it is
clear that others are under control and I’ve processed it, I freak out. And, since
my phone wasn’t functional, I had none of my closest friends or family there to
talk to so that I could deal with it.
Needless to say, I burst into tears.
Becca’s family is Mormon, and in the habit of “adopting”
missionaries who are far from home and giving them a family and friends. Since
Becca’s family also adopted me, this means I have a lot of brothers and
sisters. There were two missionaries on site, and upon seeing me start to cry,
they called for a group prayer. We all knelt and they led us in prayer for
Becca’s safety, and for the safety of her dog, Haze.
Most people wouldn’t think the dog was a huge issue. But I
believe animals are gifts from God, and they are irreplaceable. Not on the same
scale as humans, perhaps, but I would probably punch someone who told me my
horse Trigger was replaceable. Becca is liable to seriously maim someone who
told her that about Haze. Haze has gotten her through some serious issues in
her life, and sometimes the dog is all that keeps her sane. We NEEDED the dog
to be alive.
Later in the day, I was able to call Becca, and hearing her voice
made me cry again. We jokingly say that we’re married to each other, because of
how close our friendship is. So just imagine hearing your significant other’s
voice after worrying about them all day. It was a lot. But SHE calmed ME down
and I was able to get the details of the accident – something in her car had
malfunctioned, causing it to jerk, and she overcompensated, caught the gravel
on the side of the road, flipped the truck, and skidded (WITH THE VEHICLE
UPSIDE DOWN) more than ten feet. Her seatbelt quite literally saved her life,
and it is miraculous that she sustained no injuries other than a scratch and a
couple of bruises, including a pretty impressive black eye.
With my own car accident that left me in the hospital for
three days last year, I was able to relate with Becca probably the most. I knew
exactly how she felt as she described her fear of driving and how she was dealing
with the trauma, and that she was probably in shock.
However, the next day she came to the Living History event, and I started to run towards her to hug her as hard as I could because I was so thankful she was okay, but thankfully checked myself and stopped and hugged her very gently. And then, because I am a very outwardly emotional person, I started to cry again.
There was still no sign of Haze. So after a day that I spent on horseback
or reenacting a battle (getting tomahawked and shot to death) I took Becca home,
on the way stopping by a nearby country store and putting up a “Lost Dog” sign.
I was praying the whole time, envisioning Haze having miraculously found her way
home and running up to us as we pulled into the drive way. God decided to
one-up me. We passed the crash site on the way back, and there was Haze,
waiting for us. Becca saw her first, pointed and yelled “STOPSTOPSTOP!!!” I hit
the brakes and yelled “SHITSHITSHIT!!!!”
A more joyous reunion there has never been!
This picture was taken when we got home, because I was
driving at the time, but it immediately went on facebook as the happiest moment
of 2013. And Becca and I are currently having an ice cream party to celebrate.
Aside from all of the craziness, God has definitely used
this incident to teach ME. He taught me that I can’t always rely on my friends
to help me get through things – HE has to be the one to rely on, as I
discovered through prayer. I also learned that he cares about the little things
– like a dog that means so much to Becca, even one-upping me in my prayer. I
can almost hear his voice: “See? Not only do I take care of you, I can do
better than you could ever imagine. Just trust me on this.”
