The phone on the wall in the kitchen gave a shrill ring.  I walked from the living room, leaving my tutoring student, to answer its cry.   

“Hello?” I answered.

“This is North Fulton Medical Center calling.  Are you related to Ray Gunnin?”

“Yes,” I replied, “I am his wife.”  I do not know why I said that.  To me my husband has always been Bill and his father is Ray, but for some reason, on that day, I knew the voice was talking about my husband.

“Ray has been in an accident,” the calm voice continued.

“What is his condition?” I wanted to know. Not a very smart question when the hospital calls instead of your loved one.

“He is non-responsive. The neurosurgeon is on the way.”

My knees buckled under me as my world changed.  Tears came to the surface quickly as I tried to keep breathing.

“Mrs. Gunnin are you there?”

“Yes.  I…I am….” I said from my crouched position on the floor.

“Good.  Do you have someone there to drive you?”

“No.  I have a tutoring student here and her mom will be back some time…later I think.” I fumbled for words through my tears.

“Mrs. Gunnin stay on the line with me until you calm down.  Take some deep breaths.  It will not do your husband any good if you wreck on the way to the hospital because you couldn’t see.”   I sat on the floor, and the little girl in the next room came in now eyes wide, knowing something was terribly wrong.  She remained fixed in one spot. Silent, just watching.

This was the beginning of my day 20 years ago.  It did not get better as the day progressed.  In fact, it got much worse.  The accident turned our lives upside down.  It was catastrophic.   Now, looking back I am so thankful for God’s faithfulness.  He brought us through.  He healed and restored.  We still mark this day each year.  A day of remembrance we call it.  Today it was breakfast out as a family.  The kids put aside their schedules for an hour to honor their dad.

I am thinking that we should have more remembrances in our lives.  Not just the catastrophic ones, like head injuries and cancer. What about the beginning of a new day?  Or the memory of a warm family gathering?  We could remember God’s faithfulness on payday.  We could stop right now and think of all of his blessings to us. We do not have to wait for some anniversary to remember. We do not have to wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas to do this…in fact it might be less stressful to do it today…an ordinary day. Daddy’s Alive Day.