Bye-bye, Blue Bus

Praise God that my son is OK! However is '74 Baby Blue VW Bus in not. Yesterday in a new driver's error in judgement, he swerved into oncoming traffic in order to miss rear-ending a car in front of him. He side swiped a landscaper's truck and slammed careened into the woods stopping inches in front of a large tree.

I am so thankful to God. When I arrived home from doing my hospice visits yesterday, my youngest son greeted me at the door with the news that Rob had been in an accident and was at the hospital. A few minutes later my wife arrived home. She was on her way home from the scene. Rob had called her on her cell as soon as it happened. When she came home she described the accident, said Rob was covered with blood and was brought the hospital in an ambulence.

As we drove through the hospital, not sure if Rob had been seriously injured or was OK, all kinds of thoughts were racing through my head and Christine and I began to talk about what we were both thinking. How would get through it if God chose to take one or more of our kids home? Would we be able to cope? How could we go on living? Being in the ministry and doing Hospice chaplancy work, I meet people all the time who are facing the end of life for themselves or their loved one. It is very hard to see a person in their 20's, 30's or 40's struggle with cancer or some other terminal illness and watch the impact on the family. I have witnessed the suffering of other and tried offer them comfort and provide some spiritual care. But faced the the possiblity of a seriously injured son I realize that coping with loss is an even more complicated process than I thought.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we got the hospital. It turns all the cuts and bruises are minor for both Rob and the friend he was driving. He is doing fine.

He is bus however, seems like a total loss. All the driver side window exploded out, as well as the front and rear. The driver side door and front panel suffered extensive damage, sheering off part of the roof and the side pillars. Both front seats came unbolted and flew around the cab. Looking at the car, I know it is a miracle he walked away.