I Got Hit By A Car!!

Probably most people who operate within the Gregorian calendar have their own version of a sort of New Years resolution, or goal, or something like that. Personally, I’ve always liked the idea but I’ve never felt like I ever made “good” resolutions at the beginning of the year. Most of that is due to the lack of thought that went into making the plan in the first place. This year- I want to learn to appreciate more. I want to be blown away in wonder.

 Just speaking from opinion, life may be the most under-appreciated things in the world. I realized this personally this past week when I had an accident on my bike. I was riding in downtown Jackson, parallel with traffic, when a car to my left made a right turn at an intersection directly into me. At the time, I was probably pedaling at about 15-18 mph and the impact made me roll over his hood and slide on the pavement for about 6 feet.

I stood up, looked around, picked up my bike, looked around some more, and walked it over to the sidewalk. People were staring. I made a quick vital check of myself. I knew I hadn’t hit my head, and I was standing upright so that was a plus. Other than that I couldn’t feel anything wrong other than the abnormal amounts of adrenaline in my system. The man rushed out of his car and came over to me. His face and expression was in panic. He checked to see if I was alright. All I could do was smile in a half laugh and tell him that as far as I could tell everything was fine. I introduced myself and he told me his name was Al. Sharp dresser and really nice guy.

We talked for a little while and I reassured him that I was ok and my bike was ok. I really couldn’t think of any words of lecture. What could I say? Other than a couple of raspberries, I was fine. What blew me away was the fact that standing in front of me was a man that cared. He as well had no lecture for me. He didn’t say anything about how bicyclists shouldn’t be on the road or take different routes or whatever. He was being a genuine person caring for another person. Part of me wanted to sit down with him and share some coffee and just hang out. My friend Corey told me that if drivers and cyclists were to get angry and start lecturing each other it’s not going to bring us any closer together. We all need the road, therefore we all need to get along as we use it.

In some ways, I’ve already learned to enjoy and appreciate the life I have been given, but I can’t always say the same for the life of others. Learning to appreciate and value the life that the Creator gave to others is going to take way more than a year but I’m planning to be a little more intentional about it.