A Thanksgiving Memory of a Near Tragedy

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Back when our daughter, Maureen, was almost two, I ran over her with my car.

I was parked in our driveway and was leaving to go somewhere – I don’t recall where. Leaving the house, I hugged and kissed her at the front door and went to get in my car, unaware that she had followed me. Just as I was backing out of the driveway, she was walking behind the car. She was so tiny I didn’t see her when I checked the rearview mirrors.

She was in the middle of the bumper area, between the right and left set of wheels, when the car passed over her and I heard screams from a neighbor. I immediately suspected what had happened and dreaded getting out of the car.

I found her pinned under the differential, the large gear train located between the two front wheels. She didn’t have so much as a scratch. The fact that she was so tiny and happened to be walking behind the car between the wheel sets of a car with a high frame saved her.

Divine Providence?

I’m leaving out what is usually referred to as “divine providence. That’s the traditional Christian view, and that of some other religions, that God can – and sometimes does - intervene in our lives. Personally, I believe that God can do so but probably does so rarely and that it’s impossible to know when it happens. I think of God as the parent of adult children who recognizes their freedom, even freedom to fail, but when necessary helps them out directly.

“Divine Providence” is a theological problem that’s “beyond my pay scale,” however. I believe the incident with Maureen may have been one of those times when God intervened and my wife and family and I are grateful for the outcome. It’s among so many things – the majority of which I’m undoubtedly unaware – that I have to be grateful for on Thanksgiving.

Maureen

Many people have had similar experiences, incidents that could have been tragic but for various reasons weren’t. We just don’t know whether God is involved, but people searching for God develop a sense for God’s presence and know that ultimately and inexplicably, God is in charge and deserves our continual gratitude. 

Every year I’m amazed that in a country like ours, which is so wrapped up in the material, so much into “conspicuous consumption,” so enamored of people who amass wealth and fame, we still celebrate a holiday like Thanksgiving. I’m not sure about the extent to which Americans are conscious of its meaning, but it’s admirable that we have a holiday to recall how much we have to be grateful for.

Growing up in a different culture, my wife, Amparo, is perhaps more tuned in to Thanksgiving than I am. It’s become a bit ho-hum for me but she so appreciates the fact that a day is set aside to be grateful. She reminded me that this blog would be published on Thanksgiving and gave me ideas for this post. Here’s a sample.

·       We teach our children to say “thank you,” not just to be polite but to learn the importance of gratitude, to be moved by the generosity of God and others. To what extent are we adults aware of its importance?

·       We should be grateful for material things, like roofs over our heads and warm winter beds, but even more for the essentials like faith, family, friends, health and the beauty of nature.

·       It’s hard to be grateful when we’re in the habit of comparing ourselves to others. It’s like the person who receives a gift of a scarf and says “Thanks, it’s beautiful,” but thinks, “If only it were blue instead of red.”

·       Though comparisons make us less grateful, being thankful makes us more empathetic to other people’s problems and helps people searching for God to be generous, especially to God’s favorites, the poor.

·       If a prayer of thanksgiving – such as one before the main meal of the day – isn’t among your family traditions, maybe it should be, thinking of at least one thing for which you are grateful. No need for embarrassment. The vast majority of people, even unbelievers, don’t seem to mind.

Since I’m mentioning a lot of family members in these blogs lately, I’ll add one more. My brother, Dick – a priest in Kansas City who died in 2008 – was a generous and grateful person who several times reminded me that “you can’t outdo the generosity of God.”

I often think about that when I recall the great gift that is Maureen.