Around 6:00am this morning, I met a very lucky gentleman named Abel, to me his name speaks on so many levels. Our paths came to cross like this... Our dog, woke me up this morning around 5:00am, since my husband is out of town, I had to let her out - and this inevitably means that now I'm awake. I was laying in bed when I heard a HORRIBLE noise outside - it sounded like a construction crane had just dropped a dumpster on the road. I ran outside to see a Jeep completely upside down and facing the wrong way on the wrong side of the road. It was also slammed in to two parked cars. The wheels on the Jeep were spinning and to my horror, I could hear someone beating on the window from inside the Jeep. I screamed for my neighbor to call 911 and ran to get my brother to help me get the trapped individual out. By some miracle, the man literally fell and tumbled out of the Jeep and he was horrified at what he saw - his Jeep upside down - demolished, and two other cars completely wrecked. Yet, he didn't have a single scratch or mark on him. He said he was wearing his seatbelt and the airbag had deployed leaving him suspended upside down. I asked him what happened and he explained that he is an EMT, he had worked all night and was heading home and he fell asleep at the wheel. He looked at me with such sadness in his eyes and said "this is really a bad day!" I looked at him and said, "no, this is the best day - you are here, you are alive, you are so lucky, you survived, this is the best day!" The neighbors who owned the parked cars came out of their house still half asleep and saw the wreckage in front of their house. The first thing they asked was "Is everyone alright?" Abel apologized profusely to them and they said "it's ok, it was an accident, cars are only sheet metal, what is important is that you are ok!" Then the father went in the house to bring a chair outside for Abel to sit in while he calmed himself down. The neighbor's compassion for Abel was almost tangible. Neighbors streamed out of their houses to see what had happened and all expressed concern for Abel - they told him how lucky he was and that he should thank the powers above for saving him. Looking at the wreckage, you couldn't imagine someone surviving it much less walking away without a single scratch. No one yelled, no one screamed. There was an abundance of concern, support, and compassion for this young man who has chosen a career where he gives aid, concern, support and compassion to others. And, now it was his turn to receive. I looked in his eyes and saw that Abel was thankful. |