Blogs - Chief of Pray Blog

Safety Breaks

I have a very hard time taking safety precautions. I’m not sure why I don’t worry, but I don’t.  It runs in our family and it drives the in-laws crazy. My DIL can’t understand why I’m so causal about germs. She taught my granddaughter Rosie to remind me that I need to put toilet paper on the seat before going potty. My SIL was shocked to learn that my daughter Rachel didn’t wear a bicycle helmet.  We adapt. We do as they say when we’re with them, but when we’re solo – it’s hats off and bottoms down!

Like everyone else who has a heart, mine broke yesterday when I read about another senseless shooting.  DJ was 15 years old. His mom, Vanessa, was very careful to be sure he was safe. She drove him everywhere.  Saturday night DJ went to a party in the neighborhood.  Vanessa drove him as usual and was on call to pick him up. A call came less than two hours later.  DJ had been shot and killed. There is no safety net big enough to protect a teenager from random violence.

What are the odds? It’s not likely that Rosie will catch an infectious disease from a toilet seat.  Barack Obama and his family wear bike helmets, so it must be a good thing. The odds are excellent that our children will grow up healthy and happy. It’s very likely that we’ll die from diseases associated with old age and live productively with our ailments.  Life is a crapshoot and we play the game, even though we’re not guaranteed a winner. I’m not going to squirt Purell 24/7, but I will wear my seat belt. I won’t buy organic, but I will eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. I have to live life.

Pick and choose. Live, so that at the end of the day, you can say that you did not waste it. What good does it do to worry? No good at all.

Help me to not worry
when the phone rings and rings
and my messages go unanswered.

Let me take a deep breath
and picture them;
not in a ditch,
but where they usually are these days—
touring a winery,
hiking a woodland path,
or on yet another trip.

The life they are living today is
their reward for years of labor,
sacrifices made when we were children.
I know this even as I envy them.
They have the leisure I want for myself.
But today, it is theirs.

Let my smile mirror your smile,
as they enjoy their health,
their time, and their lives,
dedicated at long last to enjoying the world
You have made and the leisure You grant.

-Sue Bradford Edwards