Fender Bender

Have you ever had one of those really minor fender benders? So minor that "fender bender" exaggerates the description? No measurable damage, no injuries, no police report or insurance to file.  Just enough of a bump to grab your attention...and make you pay a little more attention while you're on the road? We had one of those last week in the car line dropping my son off for school.  The mom behind us was looking for something, let her foot slip off the brake and rolled into the back of us.  She was embarrassed more than anything else, and I felt really bad for her because, let's be honest, that's totally something I would do.

After we got out of the car line and could stop to look at our cars, there was no damage at all.  But for the rest of the day I was much more aware of everything around me on the road.  That little bump didn't do any damage, just gave us a bit of a jolt, and made me more aware.  As the day wore on and I thought about that little fender bender, I thought about the times in life where I've had life "fender benders".

You know the ones I mean.  The health scare that turns out to be nothing but makes you take care of yourself better.  The friends who walks through something unthinkable with a child that makes you appreciate yours a little more.  The coworker who loses a spouse and makes you value yours a little more.  The neighbor who loses their home and makes you more thankful for the shelter you have.  There are lots of them.  I'm sure you've thought of a few yourself.  They aren't things that rock your world or alter your life, but they get your attention.

It's so easy in life to take our focus off of what's right in front of us, what's really important.  Then our foot just slips off the brake and hopefully all that happens is a fender bender.  Or maybe we just stay focused on the important, stay aware of all the blessing around us and don't need the fender bender to get our attention.