Safe People In Our Lives

It’s been an awesome day.

I spoke to a wonderful group of women, to whom I feel very connected. About five minutes before I was scheduled to speak, I headed out to the hallway to pray. I suddenly realized I had been in exactly the same place last year, five minutes before I was to speak.

I blogged about that day last year on January 22nd, 2013. This is what I wrote.

One Difficult Day, One Precious Life

I woke up this morning with speaking on my mind.

I had been invited to speak to a large group of women and I was excited to share about the OVERFLOW! group.  About five minutes before I was introduced, I wandered down the hallway to pray and to turn my phone off.  I noticed that my daughter had called five times so I decided to check in with her.  Her voice was shaky and the connection was poor so I couldn’t hear what she was saying. A paramedic got on the line and told me that Danae had been in a car accident. He assured me that she was OK but that she was going to the hospital to get checked out.  I wasn’t given any more details.

I made the decision to carry on with the speaking engagement. I didn’t want to get in the car right away and drive three hours to the hospital. I needed to wait…to slow down…so I entrusted Danae to the One who loves her more than I do, spoke for forty minutes and then drove east.

It was a long drive and by the time I had made my way through a snow squall, Danae had been released from the hospital.

When Danae’s boyfriend sent me this picture of Danae’s car, I wept. That was the moment that I realized what God had done. The paramedic told me that he couldn’t understand how Danae survived this crash…

…but she did.

I brought Danae home tonight and comforted her, wrapped her in warm blankets, prayed for her, laid in bed with her and held her  until she fell asleep. I know her entire body aches and I suspect that it is going to get worse before it gets better. Thank you friends, for praying with me tonight – I am not alone – I feel your prayers.

Danae is sleeping and the healing begins.

It’s 11:30 pm. It’s been a long day. Chris is away this week and the house is quiet. It’s the second time today that I am overwhelmed with tears – tears of sadness, tears of joy.

Thank you, God – for sparing Danae’s life – this was not the day for Danae to die.

I will fall asleep with Jesus on my mind.

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for you alone, O God, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4.8

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31,24

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It was a very difficult day last year…and all those memories flooded my mind this morning. I hadn’t prepared for the depth of emotion that I was about to experience.

When I came back to the group, the first line of the first worship song was about “not being overwhelmed”…and I began to weep.

I remembered the pain of learning about my daughter’s accident, the fear of all the unknowns, the picture of her car, the relief of knowing she survived…and now, I was feeling overwhelming joy and thankfulness to God for sparing my precious daughter’s life.

The group sang and I wept. When it was time for me to speak, I walked to the front and I believe the first words that came out of my mouth were, “I feel so connected to this group.”

I felt safe with these women – I could be vulnerable with them. I didn’t know them well but we had been through this horrendous experience together. I knew they had prayed and cared for me the following days after Danae’s accident.

I wanted them to know how much I appreciated their love for me.

It was a sacred moment.

In their book, Safe People, Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend define a person of safe character as someone who:

1. draws me closer to God

2. draws me closer to others

3. helps me become the person God created me to be.

Thank you ladies, for being safe people in my life.