"Today is going to be a productive day," I said to myself as I awoke. "I'm tired of piddling away my Sundays." Getting up a little before 8:00 am felt good. The sunlight dancing on my bed encouraged me to wake up. I was ready to start my day. I love those days when, even though it is a weekend, you choose to wake up at the same time you normally do on the weekdays, because you want to. Waking up early on the weekend is ok, because I choose to get up at that time. When I'm forced to get up early on weekdays, it's a less enjoyable, because it isn't my choice.
"Let's finally go to Wufenpu," I said. Wufenpu is a wholesale clothing market that we had thought about going to for the last 5 years. Since I haven't started my next masters class, I felt like getting out and doing stuff again. Now, the only question was, scooter or MRT. Feeling particularly lazy at that moment, I persuaded Zach to go by scooter.
Well, wufenpu was exactly what it sounded like. ;) We found nothing and after an hour or two of wandering around, we were ready to head home and relax while eating supper. But, first, a quick stop at the grocery to get a bottle of almond extract. It's amazing how God seems to give us hints sometimes about what's about to happen. I've heard people say that they had an odd feeling shortly before they got in their accident. Well, in retrospect, I realize that if I had paid attention, I might have realized something was going to happen.
On Friday afternoon, I was reading articles online, and I came across the story our previous pastor wrote about his scooter accident in Taipei. I had heard the story multiple times, but I felt like reading it that day. Then, on Sunday, I began praying as we were driving to town. Now, I always try to pray while on the back of the scooter. I find that it's a perfect time to talk to God. On Sunday, I felt a need to ask God for protection multiple times. After praying, I started to daydream/reminisce about a church gathering our first year in Taiwan. The sound system wasn't working for a bit, and the speaker decided to have everyone share their scooter accident stories. I remember thinking on the back of the bike, "So thankful that we still don't have one of those to share." Lastly, as I was about the jump on the bike to head for home after stopping at the grocery store, I remember thinking, "Hmmm... I'll just keep this bottle of almond extract in my purse to keep it safe in case we get in an accident." Why was I thinking about an accident? It seemed kinda strange at the time.
Anyways, hindsight is 20/20. Despite my prayers, we still got into an accident, but God was clearly there. In one moment, I was daydreaming on the back of the scooter, and the next moment, after seeing the scooter in front of us suddenly stop, I was thrown to the ground with no time to brace or even think about falling. I'm so thankful it happened quickly. I hate having time to think about something bad that's happening. I'd rather just have it happen. Silly enough, my first thought after being thrown to the ground, was that I'm wearing a skirt, and one leg is pinned under the scooter while my other leg is in the air. Ahh... I'm looking indecent. That being my first thought, I realized that I must not be seriously injured. I think back and laugh about how that was the most important thing at the moment, but I do recall hearing the scooters behind us screech as they tried to stop/go around us. I was unable to move, but I felt safe lying on the pavement, like God's angels were surrounding/protecting me. Thankfully, a Taiwanese family who were traveling on their scooter behind us, stopped, and assisted us. They helped carry me to the side of the road, buying bandages and iodine for our wounds, not willing to leave until they knew we were ok. Even though I was shook up from the accident, I was able to understand/communicate a few words in Chinese to this incredible family.
How did we fare in the end? Scooter still runs great, but why shouldn't it? It had two soft bodies to land on. ;) Zach got stitches above his eyebrow, but a week and a half later, he's already had them removed, and it seems to be healing just fine. Our scrapes are at that itching stage, which means they must be healing. Unfortunately, my calf is still really sore where the scooter landed on it, and I fear I'll be hobbling around school for a few more weeks, spending my evenings on my couch with my foot in the air. I feel that the saddest part about the accident was having my Keens break. I'm not a shoe girl, but those are the most expensive shoes I've ever bought, and I wear them everywhere! It's a sad day to see them die. Since, I was mostly sad about my shoes the evening of the accident, it just goes to show how blessed we are/were. If losing my shoes is the saddest thing about that accident, then God truly did protect me as I had asked Him to do while on the back of that scooter.  |
| 2 days later it was picture day at school. I'm trying to look my best here. |
