Happy Anniversary

We had a bit of an accident yesterday. We were suppose to go biking. This was how we were going to celebrate our 17th anniversary, that and dinner. Nothing really turned out how I thought it would. I suppose you could say that's a commentary on my life, marriage and family.

One of the buckles securing the bike rack had a major fail and the bikes came tumbling, sliding off the roof, down the back window, crashing glass all over my precious monkeyboy and Peach pit. He sat motionless taking in the situation. She went into full crisis mode complete with shaking, crying and associated hysterics. Papa pulled over as instructed (because my crisis mode is to go by the book, assess the situation, get everyone out of danger and call emergency). The police arrived, stopped traffic and moved the bikes off of the freeway.

Miracle #1 No one was injured (Peach had a small cut) and here I mean no one in the falling bike path, moving cars and all

Miracle #2 No other accidents occurred

Miracle #3 Somehow none of the bikes was damaged and we made it back home with kids, bikes and a renewed sense of gratitude

Perhaps I've mentioned before how I never planned to get married. I didn't think it'd happen and I was ok with that. Trust me when I say that I was not even remotely attracted to my now husband. He wasn't my type but when I went to hug him goodbye at a get together, I just knew. It hit me like the bike rack slamming into the rear window and everything changed.

We were marginal Catholics, and suffering from severe lack of catechesis but nonetheless we married in the church and proceeded to live our birth controlled marital state with a complete carefree attitude. After all we weren't ready for kids. We were "good" people, but the thing is how do  you measure good if you don't have a yardstick? We didn't have a yardstick but we had a notion, an idea, a generally acceptable practical attitude right? Everyone else we knew was on birth control and only freaks did anything else. There was nothing wrong with abortion in my view and so it went until 5 years later we got pregnant with monkeyness and we asked:

"What the hell did we do before we had kids?"

I'm sure we did something. In fact I know we did, but none of it mattered. None of it. It paled in comparison to this little ball of fur with wide eyes looking innocently back at me just like he did when shattered glass rained down all over him. It's that innocence that blows me away. My kids, a decade into their lives, are better catechized than I was when I married. They know why marriage can only ever be between a man and a woman. They know what is good and how it's measured. They know what birth control is and abortion too. They've seen the scared and frightened women walking into abortion offices. No one goes there happy except those who show up to pray for the women, the doctors, the workers. These are amazing people, profoundly saddened for the situation but immensely joyful and peaceful. Only in a Christian can the marriage of those two polar opposites make any sense.   

My life is summed up in our two kids. They are the very best of me, and yet it hasn't turned out at all like I planned and I planned, but I didn't plan for this. I never planned to go from barely Catholic, mostly agnostic totally pro-choice, to fervent in my love for Christ and everything else loving him demands. Living a life in Christ doesn't mean it'll be easy but it does mean when it all comes crashing in all around you, you'll find the courage, strength, peace and grace to make it through. "When" not "if". 

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you."

"When you walk through fire, you will not be burned."

"When", my absolute favorite word in the bible, "when".