Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Fire & Ice...


Usually those two words should never go in the same title, sentence or thought.. But somehow they are very fitting for a Garth Brooks song- She's Every Woman

"She's sun and rain, she's fire and ice
A little crazy but it's nice
And when she gets mad, you best leave her alone
'Cause she'll rage just like a river
Then she'll beg you to forgive her
She's every woman that I've ever known"

I know.. What's the point of the title, Jen?? Besides some random lyrics that pretty much sum me up. Well, I'll tell you.. It starts with the routine of stripping sheets every Sunday before Church..  It just so happens that this last Sunday, not 5 minutes after Shane stripped his sheets off his BRAND NEW MATTRESS that we paid WAY TO MUCH for at a local, I'm not naming names(ARDINGERS!!!!) furniture store- Ian climbed on top of it and unexpectedly got a bloody nose.  Being that we are a family that is notoriously late to everything, I decided to leave the blood splatters from a mattress jumping 4 year old until after church.. 

So.. We get home from church and I do a little research online for the best way to get blood out of a mattress.. 

Tip #1: Hydrogen Peroxide is not only good for getting that sun bleached look in your hair when your 14 and your mom says: "NO" to getting it dyed, but it is also fabulous for removing blood from mattress's... 

After drenching pretty much all of Shane's bed with HP (note to self, buy stock in Hydrogen Peroxide) I decide to pull the blower dryer out so my son not only has clean sheets to sleep on but also isn't bathing in a cure all oxidant.  My wrist starts to cramp and I walk out to make a phone call...

Shane decides to help in the drying of his mattress.. 
20 seconds later- he comes running out to the living room crying and begs me to come quickly.. To any mother out there, you know when your child is crying and asking you to come quickly it CAN'T BE GOOD! 

Remember that over-priced mattress that I spent a good 45 minutes on getting blood stains out of?

Apparently it actually caught on fire.. (just for a split second)

Tip #2: Hydrogen Peroxide is not flammable but sticking a blow dryer directly on a mattress is.

And now, to tie in the second word to my title.. Ice.. 

It is now Monday, mid-morning.. I had made Eggplant Parmesan for dinner the night before and know my sweet friend Johnna has never tried it, so I decide to run some over to her. After a quick phone call to tell her my plans, she invites our dog over for a play date. I get ready to leave, knock on my "hallway confessional, best neighbor" (Emily's) door and ask if she minds keeping an eye on Ian while I take Shane and Caleb with me. She suggests that I leave all the boys and enjoy a little time to my self. I say- SWEET.. And head out.. 

I pull up to a stop sign just past the check point leaving base to head towards Johnna's (maybe 2 miles away) ...I wait for a truck to pass before turning onto the road. I think to myself- "He's driving kinda fast, the roads must not be that bad" and pull out.  As I shift into 3rd gear I feel my back end break loose.. I've just hit black ice.. In what felt like hours I went from thinking "My tires are gonna catch, don't freak out, don't freak out" to "Holy *%&$, Holy *%&$" (Forgive me, Lord).. I do a 360' and then a 180' across the opposite side of our two lane highway, pass the shoulder and start sliding down a steep hillside..  I glance out my passenger window and brace myself to start rolling.. 

At that exact moment God heard my heart instead of my words.. And once again provided a Guardian Angel to protect me. There is no other way to explain how the leaf baron bushes that I thought were to weak in preventing my 4runner from rolling did what they did. 


These are the bushes.. 
a closer shot..
I did not realize this until I went back to take pictures but if you look at the slide marks from my front tires, it looks as if God took His almighty and powerful breath and blew me 2 feet forward so my tire would be braced against the thickest part of the bush. It's roots.
another example..
a close up.. Of God's GRACE ..
The MINUSCULE damage to my 4Runner..
About 10 minutes after it happened, my forever friends Michael and Heather just happened to be driving by. At that point the guys who were already there were trying to figure out the safest way to pull me out without having the 4Runner roll. The guy from Military Police was standing on my back left sided tire to keep it on the ground and I was instructed to get out of the rig. Michael came running- asked me if I was OK, and gave me a hug, and of course I started to cry. The first attempt to get the 4runner out was basically where I think I got all the scratches. Because it just slid further down the hill and was drug sideways through the brush. Michael offered to jump in and steer it out. SUCCESS! (Thank You again Michael)
 
I am so thankful God provided and protected in both moments. And has once again reminded me of these powerful Holy words:

Proverbs 3:5-6 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, 
And He shall direct your paths.

 Psalm 3:3
You, O LORD, are a shield around me,
 My glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

and my all time favorite

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Oh, one last thing.. After they had pulled me out and I was talking to MILPOL, Kona (remember she was in the back of my 4Runner through all of this) climbed up into the front seat, AND ATE THE EGGPLANT PARMESAN and the foil it was wrapped in and had a massive bout' of diarrhea the rest of the day. Nice..

And know that I have written a book for a blog post.. I wanted to share with you a song that I constantly sing when feeling the pressures of LIFE... 

(just a reminder to pause the music at the end of my page so you can hear this video by it's self)

1 comment:

  1. First off, PRAISE GOD you and the boys are all okay. Two hectic days in a row. There's never a boring day at the Melton's, that's for sure! We know and serve such a powerful and personal God who can give us peace in the midst of chaos (or a mattress on fire...or while spinning on black ice). BTW, I listened to Ginny Owens today. I love her, and that song you posted.

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