I feel like I've been hit by a truck

“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegrooms voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” John 3:29 NIV

Have you ever heard someone use that phrase “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck”? I now know someone who can actually say it. My son in law Logan got hit by a truck this past week. He was on a motorcycle. That’s a mismatch. It could have turned out so much differently.

He is okay. The injuries he has will heal but he is going to feel it while they do. It is amazing how everything you are concerned about in life can suddenly not matter. Once we heard he was okay, breathing got a bit easier. It kind of makes me wonder why I don’t make my mind concentrate exclusively on the things that matter more often.

One of the reasons I started writing was to make sure the people in my life know how much I love them. I guess it’s his turn. If he’s going to be bouncing off cars, I figure I better say it while I have the chance. He said something at their wedding that I will never forget. He said Aly “gave me the joy I did not know I lacked.” What a beautiful statement.

In my mind how I would describe his impact on our daughter would best be illustrated by watching a tire get aligned. If you have ever watched that process a machine will test the balance of a spinning tire and show where weight needs to be added to offset imbalances. You cannot tell when sitting still, but at full speed an out of balance tire will wobble. You can feel it.

That was Aly. She is one of the best people I know, but she has also gone through some hard things, everyone has. When he came along, he balanced her life. She was good. He made her better. She was capable. He made her confident. She was unique. He made her feel loved for it. She would have been okay. So would have he. Together they thrive. He smoothed out the wobble that few people could see. He gives our daughter balance. We are so thankful for him.

A friend called me today that I have not talked to for probably 25 years. When he said his name I asked, “Is this the guy I went to high school with?” He said “That’s putting it mildly. We shed blood sweat and tears together.” That was true actually. We shared stories about how our families are and all that. He has lost some important people. His wife. His brother. His mom. His mom was cool. But he said, “But I have gained so much more life than I have lost”. What a beautiful statement.

It reminded me again of Logan. We have had loss. Parents. Friends. Jordy. But when I look at my life we have gained more than we have lost and a lot of that has been since Logan used the lamest line I have ever heard to get her attention. I’m so glad it worked. We have seen growth in each other, faith in each other, and faith in Jesus to provide grace. We gained a son in law who would literally stand in front of a truck for his family.

Why does it take tragedy, or near tragedy, to make us open our mouths to reveal how much people mean to us?”

Why do I let my mind or my schedule distract me from the truly important to attend to the routine?

Challenge: To not wait, to open ourselves up to the people around us so they know how much they are loved before we cannot tell them.

Rick Claiborn