I Got a Little Perspective ...

Wait! Read this one first!

When I told people that I'd been hit by a deer (NOT that I'd hit a deer, because that is a very different thing), I was surprised by how many others had a similar story. Apparently, the deer are determined to kill as many people as possible, perhaps in retaliation for hunting season.

Fact 1: I've never been hunting, so the deer picked the wrong person. I don't like guns, I have the ADD, so I could NEVER sit still for that long, and there is NO WAY I will be getting up at 4:00 a.m. in order to kill stuff.

Fact 2: I'M TOTALLY ALIVE, DEER, SO HA! I WIN!

Anyway, once I had a little distance, I realized that I am, in fact, a very lucky girl. The whole incident could have ended in a million different ways, and I'm thankful that the damage to my car was relatively minor, and that the damage to me was just mental (which: really, who can tell?) and not physical.

Here are the things I am grateful for:

-I'm grateful that the deer was not in front of me, because it would have gone through the windshield.

-I'm grateful the deer didn't hit my door directly, because it would have deployed my airbag and I probably would have been knocked out and most likely would have driven my car off the road and into the ravine.

-I'm grateful that I did not, in fact, drive off the road and into the ravine.

-I'm grateful for Addie, who saw the whole thing and who waited the whole time with me and who followed me all the way to my parents' house.

-I'm grateful that I live near my parents.

-I'm grateful that my parents are not the kind who say, "You made your bed and now you have to lie in it."

-I'm grateful that I was able to drive the car to my parents' house.

-I'm grateful that the airbag didn't deploy, and I don't have a broken nose or black eyes.

-I'm grateful that my front tire did not go flat.

-I'm grateful that no glass flew into my eyes.

-I'm grateful that I have friends and family who pray for my safety and for my sanity.

-I'm grateful that, even though my funds are limited, I can get some more due to my awesome job that I love.

-I'm grateful that my students are understanding when I'm in a bad mood.

-I'm grateful that I was in an old car, not a new car, when I was hit.

-I'm grateful that I can be grateful, even though it's only been three days.

And look, y'all, this gratitude is not of my own making, because I have a notoriously bad attitude and there is no way that I snapped MYSELF out of it. That was, is, and will always be God. It's THAT BIG a job.

So I'm grateful that God does not allow me to wallow in my own misery, but finds ways to make me realize that I am so much better off than I could have been, and then He makes me tell other people about it.