Remembering the Blessings

Tweet

Nine years ago today I was on my way home from a concert in Chicago….just not the way I wanted to be. Nine years ago yesterday I broke my ankle. It was a simple case of southerner in ice. There are so many blessings to remember from that day. First and foremost, I was maybe 20 feet from the front door of the hotel. I was able to combat crawl on the sidewalk into the hotel, where I promptly yelled for help once I got inside. Also, as it was snowing and the VA hospital in Chicago was light years away, I was taken to the nearest hospital instead…and the VA paid for it. Of course it was my right foot (as you can see in the picture), so driving was out of the question. My brother, however, hopped on a Greyhound and came up to Chicago to get me. My buddy from the Robbie Fulks concerts came to the hotel and drove me to the Greyhound station, where my brother took over. The blessings were plentiful, and I always pause to remember them. A friend picked me up and took me to the Greyhound station in Chicago, as I said…but let me tell you WHAT that entailed for him. He drove to the hotel, then took the train back to the suburb station, where he had chained his bike, then he RODE HIS BICYCLE back to the hotel. (And, remember, it had snowed on Sunday night, prompting my slip in the snow.) My brother HATES Chicago, so for him to come up there and get me is a testament to how much he loves me. Then there was my next-door neighbor, who not only took me to the grocery, but took my groceries in AND took my aunt’s groceries in for HER! My cousin, when she could, and a deacon from my mom’s church split taking me to my doctors appointments. It was a “clean” break, meaning it didn’t need surgery. It healed on its own. I’ve done a lot of giving thanks to God over the past nine years for the blessings I had. So many things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. I tried to repay everyone who helped but they wouldn’t take a penny. My brother’s “compensation” was taking him to see Rhonda Vincent (his favorite bluegrass singer). I bought my friend in Chicago his lunch and paid for his ticket (a whopping ten bucks) next time I went to see Robbie. He protested that. My cousin and neighbor and the deacon wouldn’t think of taking money. There was a lot of blessings poured out on me during the winter of 2015, and I’m still thankful when I remember them. Photo: my damaged (and plastered/wrapped) ankle, January 12, 2015.