It Could All Change In An Instant

Something happened the other day that reminded me how quickly things can shift in life. I was taking care of my friends’ children for the week at their home in Pennsylvania and having a wonderful experience. The parents were vacationing in Europe and I was in charge. I love this family very much and always enjoy myself when I am in their home. I’ve been an overnight nanny for them for about ten years. 

This family loves animals. They have four dogs and a cat. At one point, they owned horses, too. They are very loving to their pets and treat them well. Although I’ve taken good care of the cat, we’ve never really bonded. I admit that I am not a “cat person”. I’ve tried, but it’s just not happening. But, the dogs, well, I just love them. They are so affectionate and easy to deal with. They just want to play, run around and be petted. At all times. Oh, and, have snacks as often as possible. 

On this particular morning, one of the pups kept enticing me to throw the ball to him. I happily spent about ten minutes doing so. He was little, spry and cute. Soon after, all four dogs begged to go outside and I sent them on their merry way out the door. They all have electric collars. So, they can be on their own when they leave the house.

Within minutes, I heard a car pull up the driveway. What took place after that still makes me want to cry. One of the small dogs ran under the car and was killed instantly. The pup I was just playing with! It took me off guard. I could not wrap my head around it. How could this be? Fun & games one minute. And, disaster the next.  So sad!

Then, a few days later, dear, long time friends invited me to their home to tell me all about a trip they were due to take in the next few days to Italy to visit their daughter who is studying in Rome. They were so excited to go over their itinerary with me and I was thrilled for them. I bid them a fond adieu and asked them to send lots of pictures of their travels. 

Next thing you know, my phone rang with the disturbing news that these wonderful friends had been in a car accident. Another automobile had turned right in front of them on a very busy road making a collision inevitable. Serious injuries were sustained but fortunately nothing life threatening. Again, disbelief set in for me. Why did this happen? So upsetting!

In the week following these events, I’ve tried to look at the big picture to see if there was anything I could learn from these sudden challenging situations. Was the Universe trying to teach me something? I was really searching for a lesson to take away from these occurrences that had been troubling me so. Here’s what I came up with after giving it some serious thought.

Maybe I was supposed to be focussing on gratitude more than I had been. I am a very fortunate person because all of my relationships are happy ones. I have a tremendous amount of Love in my life. I am surrounded by easy going, kind people who enrich my experience here on earth. I have everything I need. I want for nothing. Was I thanking the good Lord enough on a regular basis? Something to think about. 

Or, had I been falling into the bad habit of taking things for granted? Was I living in the moment enough? Or, was I absentmindedly not noticing the beauty that envelops me every day? Was I treasuring the good times? Or, was I letting them pass by with little thought? For many years now, I’ve come to an understanding that everything happens the way it’s supposed to happen. I believe that  everything is in Divine order. I think that there is a master plan orchestrated by a Loving Being. It’s impossible to comprehend every detail of this plan. We, as human beings, do not posses the necessary reasoning power.

I don’t know why bad things suddenly happen. Who does? But, I’d like to start working on accepting that life unfolds exactly as it is meant to. I only have control of a small portion of what goes on around me. Please Dear Lord help me to avoid taking anything for granted. Please help me to be grateful always. And, please help me to remember The Serenity Prayer- “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.” ( Thank you, Reinhold Niebuhr )