The Gift of Life

Last night as I lay in bed watching my little boy sleep, I was reminded of how precious life is and how easy it is to take even that for granted. Of all the things we see and do during our daily routine it's easy to assume that it'll always be there. How often do we stop what we are doing to say "thanks" to almightly God for the many blessing he has given us from the house we live in right down to the air that we breath.
My husband, Josh, and I have been in that particular place not too long ago. As Josh was preparing to go to Iraq he spent much of the summer in California with his Marine unit training for battle. As the day of deployment neared he was given 4 "free" days. So as a spur of the moment trip, I flew out to see him with our 1 year old daughter. We spent the next 4 days touring Palm Springs and relaxing in our hotel. Every moment with him was precious. I hung onto every conversation and photographed every time he snuggled with his little girl. Each moment not sure if this would be the last time we would see him. There are no certainties with war. No guarantee that he would live through the battles he was about to face. It was knowing that that left me treasuring every minute we had. Little did I know that just a few months later it would be me that life had become so uncertain.
Josh did come home and sooner than had expected. He came home to be by my bedside in the intensive care unit at Spectrum Hospital. The auto accident I had been in left me physically broken and struggling for life. Josh was sent home with the understanding that it might be to prepare my funeral! We found ourselves, roles reversed, treasuring every minute we had. When I woke from a week long coma, I was relieved to see him alive and safe and he looked at me with that same relief. We cherished the breaths we took together at that moment and were overwhelmed with how precious life is. We were forever changed and not a day goes by that we are not grateful for each other.
Life is a precious gift. If you just took a breath of air, be thankful. You are blessed!