A Reason to Be Grateful

There are many things I am grateful for in this life. Then sometimes, something happens which makes me even more grateful. This particular feeling of gratefulness does not have anything to do with money, love, or being successful, it is about being in the right place at the right time.

The other day, a peaceful Sunday morning, I was driving down normally busy four lane road and saw something I couldn't believe.

A little girl, who couldn't have been more than two, was pushing her doll stroller across the four lanes of traffic. Thanks God it was Sunday morning and traffic was extremely light.

My reaction was simply to pull the car over and leave it in the far lane. I jumped out of the car and bolted toward her. Well, this little girl knew enough to run from a stranger. While trying to look for more oncoming cars I chased the little girl around so I could get her out of the road.

Suddenly her father came running down a hill across the road from where I was parked. He ran right to her and snagged her up, saying "bad girl" to her. I picked up the stroller and gave it to him. The father grabbed the stroller and started off toward where he came from.

I went back to my car, with my own four kids, and sat behind the wheel for a few minutes. My hands were shaking and I was on the brink of tears.

What would have happened if I hadn't come along?

There are so many reasons to be grateful that things worked out the way they did in this scenario. Just think, what if someone had been driving down the road and bent to change the radio station. She would have been killed.

After this happened, I thought about how absolutely grateful I am that I had come along. Even though the father didn't say thank you (he was probably traumatized) I feel that I did something good. Doing something for someone else is a very fulfilling thing, even when it's only a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

I know I didn't really "save" her, but I feel like it made a difference that I happened to be there. The sad part is, I was the only one who stopped. The fact that no one else stopped to help really makes me wonder if anyone would have stopped if I had not already been.

Please, when you drive, keep your eyes on the road. This little girl could have been hit by anyone, if for one second they had taken their eyes off the road.