Perspective

On Friday we were heading up to Louisville to let the girls meet their baby cousin for the first time and to see Nate's oldest brother and his family. We left the house at 8:30 and we got about 30 miles up the freeway when we came to a stop. We sat for about an hour with the windows down and wondered what was going on. Nate turned the car radio on for a few minutes and we learned there had been a huge accident where 11 people had been killed. We sat for about an hour more and the kids were over the waiting and lacking understanding of why we were just sitting there. Nathan explained to them there had been an accident and I told them to remember it is better to be sitting in traffic behind an accident than being either in the accident or the family who lost their loved ones.

It took us 6 hours to finally make it to Louisville--about 100 miles. Later that afternoon we learned that a dear friend of ours had a sister in the van that was hit by a tractor trailer truck and she had passed. Ashlie was 22.

Yesterday we went to the visitation at the church of the family and I was talking with Ashlie's older sister. She talked of how the day before the accident Ashlie was painting with this sister and she just could not stop talking about how excited she was about the trip. She was going to a wedding in Iowa with the Esh family (or 10 members of the Esh family.) The sister said, "She was so excited for this trip. She thought she was going to a wedding, instead she went to be with Jesus. I think she underestimated how amazing her trip was going to be." How powerful a perspective.

The Esh family lost in the accident 8 members of their family. A mom, a dad, a son, 2 daughters, a fiance of the daughter, a daughter in law, and a grandchild--a four month old who had been adopted into the family just 2 weeks before. 2 children--adopted sons of one of the sons and daughter in law survived the accident with no physical injuries. Ashlie Kramer and the driver of the tractor trailer lost their lives as well.

Such a great tragedy, but in the end a great reminder of how Heaven is our home and our time on Earth is limited. I rejoice in the celebration of the Kramer family of their daughter gone to be with God. I hope if in the same situation my faith would be as strong.