OK...so it isn't like it was when I was 13. When I was 13 my dad taught me how to drive. He used to take me to abandoned parking lots (oh....maybe that is where I went wrong....) and let me sit behind the wheel, with him in the passenger seat, and taught me how to drive. By the time I was 17 and going for my drivers license, it was no big deal. Passed the first time around. Even passed parrallel parking. Now, my neighbor (sorry Karen) never drove prior to her permit and truth be told, she probable shouldn't drive now. I remember her hitting everything when she got her license...curbs....garbage cans and the like. I drove for years before I had an accident, and the first one was not my fault. Now, before I tell my story remember my truck is about 2 months old. And we moved into our house 9 months ago, and it is pretty new, too. Well, when we lived at our old house, our driveway was 1/2 mile long and I used to let the kids sit on my lap and steer the car down the driveway. They thought it was fun and I was in control of the car (oh, maybe THAT is where I went wrong....) So, when we moved here I thought, with two driveways and a path around the house all the way to the barn, what better place to teach Rae how to drive (see a pattern of "wrong" thinking here yet?!) I would let her sit behind the wheel and I would sit in the passenger seat, just like when I was 13. I would direct and she would drive. We have done this several times with no problems. Well, needless to say, that WASN'T the case on Sunday, November 7, 2010. We drove around the house and she wanted to pull into the garage. While my truck is huge, our garage is WAY oversized so getting the truck in should be no problem....and in fact, it wasn't. The problem was not stopping. We were "rolling" in and she was not stopping. I say (not panicked, but a little alarmed), "Rae, brake" and she hit the gas and that is when panicked. RAECHYL........BRAKE........STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and that is when "it" happened. Yup, she hit the gas harder and drove THRU the house. Yes, you read that correctly....thru the house....and Matt Marcus, you thought YOU had the record for car stories.
Well, suffice it to say the rest of the night (and the next day or two) were NOT pretty.
Praise be to God, no one was hurt. I have learned many lessons here. God is unbelievably gracious. My car made it with almost no damage (honest...even the guy at the dealer, when he had it on a lift the next day looking for damage, said there was NO evidence that the car was hung up on the concrete foundation of our home). The damage to the house was under $1000 and is being fixed this coming week. As for Rae....I'm pretty sure she won't be driving until she is 30, but certainly not until 17 as far as I am concerned....I totally understand now why God tells us to obey ALL the law (not just part of it). No tickets cuz the damage was on private property. I have been chewed up and spit out by my counselor, and rightfully so. I have learned much, but my greatest lesson was how precious the lives of my two babies are and how amazing my husband and God are. I'm not quite sure how Eric didn't blow a gasket (ha! no pun intended) but I am pretty sure....no, in fact I KNOW it is the grace of our unbelievable God. I can't put all that God did in this blog, it would take two days to cronicle. But just know one thing...our God is bigger than our biggest problem and that He ALWAYS blesses obedience. Eric and I came together in prayer and thanksgiving and our God blessed us. Thank you Father for your amazing grace....and each day I realize more and more that I am the wretch that the song wrote about~
Until next time.....(no, there is NEVER a dull moment with me....always in some sort of trouble or doing something unbelievable, but like I keep saying, you can't make this stuff up~)
