On May 15, 2005, Scott & I were on our way back from spending the weekend in Destin, FL with his parents. We coming up the interstate with all of the other travelers when suddenly from the southbound (oncoming) traffic side was a vehicle speeding so fast, it left the road & ran in to the grassy median, flipped, spun & headed right towards us upside down. There was a BMW directly in front of us. He hit her directly in the driver's side with such an impact & then came towards us. Luckily, Scott was driving & missed him.

Evidently, I went directly in to "robot/mommy mode" as I jumped out of the van before it was even stopped & ran toward the upside car as it was smoking. I was afraid it was going to catch on fire with the driver inside. I found the back windshield missing & no person. Someone yelled that he wasn't there. He was thrown from his car about 100 yards from his car & was lying face down in the concrete ditch. There were 2 people were with him. Scott pulled me away from the car as it was smoking even more.

So, still in robot/mommy mode, I sprinted straight to the car that he hit. It was knocked completely across the other 2 lanes, off the road & in to the ditch. The driver's door was missing & the car was split from under the driver's seat completely in half to the rear passenger door. Inside was this 21 year old girl. I was asked for a towel, so I ran to get one of mine. I wrapped it around her wrist & tied it off. It was severed so bad that it wasn't even bleeding that much. She wasn't responding, but breathing.

I got in her purse to find her ID for her name, info, & hopefully a phone. Stephanie. Her cell phone was under her feet. I went back around & crawled under her legs to get her phone. There in the address book was "dad's cell". I called. I explained to him what was going on. Her boyfriend was directly in front of her & had already called, so there were already on their way. He put her mother on the phone with me. Scott checked on the boyfriend & he was in a daze just sitting on the grass. I told Stephanie that I had her parents on the phone & they were coming as fast as they could. I told her mother what was going on, what the medics were doing, & talked to her the whole time. Once the ambulance got there & loaded her, I told her parents where they were taking her. I told them I was giving her purse & phone to the ambulance driver so it wouldn't be left there. Poor Stephanie.

Once they took here away, Scott said I changed modes & realized just what had happened. I then started to panic & was scared to death. He had to help me back in the van. Now I was in a daze... It went through my mind in slow motion over & over again. I think I was now sort-of in shock. Scott was dazed.

Once I got home, I called the hospital were she was taken. She wasn't there, but the man that hit her was. He was doing ok. (He was very drunk!) I called the other hospital & they wouldn't give me any information about her because I wasn't family. I tried to explain to them that I was with here & on the phone with her parents at the accident. "We can't tell you how she is." "Can I speak to her parents?" "They've already left". "WHAT?!?" I hung up the phone, knowing that the worst happened. If she was still alive, her parents would've never left her side. I cried myself to sleep that night....

The next morning at work, I looked on the internet for information about the accident, but couldn't find anything. I finally found her parent's names the next day. I made the call. Come to find out, they had been wondering who I was & how to find me. They invited us down for lunch. We went that Sunday. They are the sweetest, most loving Christian people I've ever met. Just good people. After lunch, I was given a tour of Stephanie's bedroom. Beautiful. I was given a picture of her. What a beautiful girl!! Only 21 years old. She was such a smart & incredible young woman who had just begun her life. I have her picture with the funeral program in a frame.

This has such a huge impact on me. I didn't even know this little girl, yet I felt such a connection to her & her parents. Unexplainable, but there was something there that really touched me. I couldn't even remember her last name any more. The next morning on my way to work, words & a melody just came to me. I wrote a song right there about Stephanie. I sang it to Scott, who put my melody to his guitar, & added more on his keyboards to complete the music. He did such a beautiful job. The song is very beautiful. Once I get my singing loaded on to his recorded with the music, we're taking it to her parents.

"You Never Know"
(In memory of Stephanie)

You never know when your time here is through
You never know when His Majesty will come for you
And carry you above
To His Kingdom full of love
You never know when your time here it through

So you
Love with all your heart
Dream with all you have
And live like there's nothing in your way
Love with all your heart
Dream with all you have
And live like there's nothing in your way

In the blink of an eye she was gone
A wonderful young lady who's life always glowed
Her beauty and her grace
Full of love and full of faith
Her Lord and Savior has taken her home.

She just
Loved with all her heart
Dreamed with all she had
And lived like there's nothing in her way
She loved with all her heart
Dreamed with all she had
And lived like there's nothing in her way

She was God's gift to her family
They loved her more than mere words could ever say
Her memory lives on
In their hearts and in their heads
She is living inside them every day

You never know when your time here is through
You never know when His Majesty will come for you
And carry you above
To His Kingdom full of love
You never know when your time here is though

So you
Love with all your heart
Dream with all you have
And live like there's nothing in your way
Love with all your heart
Dream with all you have
And live like there's nothing in your way



[COPYRIGHT: Sheryl A. Porter, 2005]

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I posted this on "needsmorecowbell"'s blog for her posting of songs that have an impact or meaning to people. I decided to post it here too.

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi was going up to bed when his
wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she
could see from the bedroom window.

George opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there
were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?" and he said
"no". Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should
simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available.

George said, "Okay," hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police
again.

"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people
in
my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now cause I've just
shot them all." Then he hung up.

Within five minutes three police cars, an Armed Response unit, and an
ambulance showed up at the Phillips residence and caught the burglars
red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to George: "I thought you said that you'd
shot
them!"

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

(True Story) I LOVE IT

Is my new background "too much"? In keeping with my name, I googled "Victoria's Secret backgrounds" & found this. Now I'm wondering if it isn't just too, um...seductive-looking or sumpin.



Update: I decided to change it. It's not "me" & was just way too much & possibly offensive to some - myself included.

So, is this better??

He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan .

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have
been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the
money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."

There is an old saying "What goes around comes around." Today, I sent you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on .. Let this light shine.



Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

I wish there were some wonderful place
In the Land of Beginning Again;
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches
And all of our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door,
And never put on again.

Louise Tarkington