A Day of Miracles

Yesterday began as a fairly normal day. We joined friends at the park in the morning, followed by a nap for Asher. Kaia and I were eating a snack. Then came an unexpected phone call. My dad called and basically told me, “I want you to know that I’m okay now, but you almost lost your dad yesterday.” What?!? After my dad visited an ATM machine (in Florida, where he is for business), he was followed by a man and then brutally attacked. My dad was stabbed 27 times. It is quite literally a miracle that my dad is alive. I’ve never before given much thought to the expression “he came within an inch of his life,” but it took on new meaning as I realized that my dad nearly died. If one of those stab wounds had been an inch (or less) in either direction, my dad wouldn’t have been the one making that phone call. It is a miracle that none of the knife wounds punctured any vital organs. I feel so incredibly grateful that my dad is still alive. At the same time, the world suddenly seems a much scarier place. At the moment, I don’t have much desire to ever leave the relatively safe confines of my own home. I know this feeling will pass to some degree, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel as safe as I once did. To know that any person at any time could attack me or a loved one is shocking, immobilizing. That this happened to my own dad still leaves me reeling.

Yesterday when I got off the phone with my dad, I found that items on my to-do list that had seemed so pressing only moments before were suddenly rendered completely irrelevant. Who cares about a mopped floor when I almost lost my dad? So yesterday I spent a lot of time staring off into space and trying to process what had happened. This morning, instead of jumping out of bed to mop those floors that were still trying to attract my attention, I lay in bed for a few more moments as Kaia was “saloning” my hair, smoothing it out and combing it, rubbing gel through it. In reality, which experience will stick with me longer? I’m pretty sure I won’t fondly remember mopping the floor. Of course, those types of things still need to be done, but I’m going to try not to do them at the expense of time I could be spending just enjoying my growing little ones and my loving husband.

Both my parents felt impressed that my dad’s life was spared because my little brother is serving a faithful mission. I am so grateful for this blessing. I am grateful that Heavenly Father spared my dad so we can have more time with him in this life. My dad was actually released from the hospital today, so he’s doing much better, although it was still take time for the wounds to heal and the pain to lessen. We would appreciate any prayers on his behalf so that he can continue to recover quickly.