Good Friday. Very Good Friday!

Today has been a roller coaster of emotions.

We were anticipating the late afternoon arrival of my dear friend Laurie and her two teenage children. They were driving here from MI to spend four days with us and make some day trips to NYC and Philly.

I had spoken with Laurie a few times on their drive. The kids were snoozing or listening to music and the drive was going smoothly. They left MI around 5:00am and were on schedule to arrive around 3:00. Around 11:45 the phone rang. It was Laurie saying they had been in an accident and rolled their car and Bryan, 14, was thrown from the vehicle. I could hear the EMT talking to her and telling her where they were going.

Is this for real? That is what is going on in my mind. I was starting to panic. Laurie was calm, strangely calm, eerily calm...shock. She said she would call when they got to the hospital and knew more.

So, I begin freaking out...seriously. Like a chicken with my head cut off. Do I jump in the car and drive? Who do I call? What can I do? Is Bryan okay? What happened?

I think I scared the girls. Baileigh started crying and I saw how my panic was freaking them out as well so we stopped and talked and prayed. I began packing us up to drive the 4 hours to the hospital. Laurie called to give me an update, but I didn't really know much more. I met with Brad to drop off the girls when Laurie called again. Bryan's MRI and Cat scan were clear and they were waiting on a few more tests to make sure he was okay.

Apparently he was sleeping in the back seat of their car, laying down and wasn't wearing a seat belt. When they went off the road the car began to roll and he was thrown out one of the car windows about 20 feet in front of the car which was then rolling towards him! Thankfully he landed in a soft muddy area and the car stopped rolling before it got to him.

Laurie and Brittany were relatively unscathed physically...emotionally they are all obviously shook up and a little gun shy about driving. Laurie called her husband as soon as the accident happened and he immediately began driving to them. Just as I was dropping off the girls so I could drive to the hospital Laurie called and said that she thought they would be discharged by dinner. That was what ended up happening but I still regret that I let her talk me into not coming. I should have gone. I know it wouldn't have changed things but by the late afternoon Laurie was sounding exhausted and the emotions were catching up with her and I wish I would have been there for her and the kids.

Thankfully Bryan is doing well. They discovered two hairline fractures in his lumbar and he has some bruises and a huge rug burn type of marks on his back. But considering he was thrown over 2o feet from a moving vehicle and can walk away without a stitch I would say he is very fortunate. Tonight they are all at a hotel by the hospital. Nobody felt like driving anymore and they thought it may be a good idea to stay close to the hospital for the evening and drive home tomorrow. Their car was a total loss.

We're obviously disappointed that they won't be visiting us this week. But more importantly we're extremely thankful and praising God that they are all okay and something that could have been very tragic turned into something that we can rejoice about.

This whole thing instantly took me back to the tragic accident two months ago that claimed the lives of Carrie and Lucas Pedersen. I had to go back and read my own words that regardless of the outcome God doesn't change. I thought about that several times today as I waited and wondered to find out what happened to Bryan.

Thankfully today was a Good Friday. A very Good Friday.