Phil and I have been married for almost 16 years. We have owned four different houses, in four different towns.
This was our first house. It was almost 100 years old. What character it had!
Our second house.....
Third house....
And our current home....
Do you notice a trend? All of our homes have had wonderful front porches. A porch is at the top of my list when we house-hunt. I've even been known to tell a realtor (or two) that I wasn't interested in looking at a house if it didn't have a porch. I just feel like it makes a home complete.
Our first porch had a porch swing. We loved spending time on that porch, but probably spent even more time on the next-door-neighbor's porch visiting with her. Oh, how I treasure those memories.
House number two had a porch lined with beautiful azaleas that bloomed every spring. The view was of a million dollar house and barn across the road - complete with white fence and horses and cows grazing.
I was heartbroken when we moved again, but took solace in the new front porch. It was huge and actually wrapped around three sides of the house. I would sometimes drink my morning coffee out there and watch the deer in the yard. Or I would take a nap on an old cot. I decorated it just like another room of the house; filling it with rockers and tables and fun "junk."
And now our current home has a front porch and gazebo. Cold weather arrived shortly after we moved in, so I haven't had a lot of time to spend on the porch or to decorate it. I have ventured out a few times to take pictures of sunsets or to just enjoy the view of the river across the road. Now that spring is arriving, I am looking forward to getting a porch swing, planting flowers in the flower boxes, relaxing in the evenings.....
But first we must deal with this....
A couple weeks ago, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the peacefulness of our porch was shattered (literally). A drunk driver lost control of his car and came flying through our yard, slamming into the porch. I can't even put into words the sound, the smell, the horror.... I won't go into a lot of detail, but the driver lost his life right there in my yard.
I've been filled with so many emotions since then. It is hard not to let the "what-ifs" fill your mind. My 10 year old was outside, but thankfully on the other end of the house. He so easily could have been right there in the front yard. The car easily could have taken a different path in all its flipping and spinning and crashed into the corner of the house where the rest of us were sitting. We could have been sitting right in those chairs on the porch enjoying the sunshine. Instead, we were putting on our shoes to go for a walk.
The anger has also been hard to deal with. I'm angry that this senseless act could have been avoided. I was angry that there were beer cans spilling out of the car into my yard. I was angry that my sweet boy couldn't sleep that night and angry that people were walking through my yard the next day "just to see what happened." I'm angry at what seems to be apathy from the community; that it doesn't seem to be a big deal that alcohol was involved. Overall, I have felt violated somehow.
But you know what? Even through the bitterness, anger and frustration I know one thing to be true. GOD IS GOOD! He spared us from further tragedy that day. Shortly after the accident, I posted some pictures on facebook. A cousin commented about our "porch of protection." You may have heard people pray to be surrounded by a "hedge of protection." Well, in our case it was our porch. It was the impact of the porch railing that stopped the car. Without the porch, I truly believe the car could have come right through the dining room window. I can't even imagine.....
We are still waiting on estimates, insurance, busy contractors, etc. I'm ready to have everything cleaned and fixed so that we can enjoy our porch. I'm ready for the visual reminders to go away. But I know in my heart that I will always remember our "porch of protection." It will be a reminder that God is in control. We don't know how many times in our lives (or even in a day) that He protects us from tragedy. Sometimes it is obvious. Other times we will never know. Thank you, God!
P. S. I think I will continue with the front porch trend from now on.
{Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. Job 1:10}
