I almost died four years ago when I forgot to take my cell phone with me. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
On a brisk November morning, I mounted the ATV and took our Border Collies for a run. Cresting the hill, I saw below that John had corralled our sheep in a temporary electric fence and knew this spelled trouble. Turning around fast, I hoped the dogs hadn’t caught sight of this. But one had.
I kenneled the other dogs and went after Bess, who had crashed through the fence and was now chasing several sheep toward me. I yelled, “Lie down! Lie down!!” But this command fell on deaf ears and I went down, hitting the hard ground. I heard a snap, and felt instant pain – my femur cracking. Not able to get up I snapped a whip, grabbed from the garage, keeping the sheep from trampling me.
But cold panic set in. My husband would be gone for another three hours, and my cell phone was in the house! I struggled to remain conscious.
And then something extraordinary happened. Images of my Norwegian immigrant grandparents came to mind – homesteading in early Montana, survivors of many hardships like losing their first child to pneumonia that first harsh winter. I almost heard them saying, “Stay calm; you will survive; if we could do it, so can you.” And so I did!
I learned an important life lesson that day. Feeling connected to memories of one’s hardy ancestors who modeled courage, learned through adversity and lived a faithful life is better than any cell phone.
I’m Connie Seraphine, and that’s my perspective.
