Friday the 13th
I recently did some research on the Friday the 13th. This year, 2016, will only see one Friday the 13. Some years may have two or more, it just depends on how the calendar falls. I did discover for a month to have a Friday the 13th; the month has to start on a Sunday.
Another tip if you were interested in determining when Friday the 13th will strike again, is to look at a calendrical method. Whenever a common year begins on a Thursday the moths of Feb, March, and November will have a Friday the 13th. This will happen 11 times in the 21rst century, or so the internet says.
Now why is Friday the 13th unlucky? Who knows, there was no real rhyme or reason as to how it got started. In fact sometimes it can be a very lucky day.
So why do I choose to blog about Friday 13th? Well Friday May 13, 2016 is a day that will be very hard for me to forget. Yet, it was a very lucky day!
My day started off like any other day. I knew my daughter would be traveling home from school out in Wyoming, for summer break. I prepared myself as I would any other day. I entered my office, looked at the calendar and thought “Friday the 13th? Oh well I will make it a good day.” For some reason, I just felt like something wasn’t right. However, it’s now 7:00 am and I have to start my work day. So I did. An hour into my day, I received a text from my daughter saying she crossed the Nebraska state line. She’s been on the road by about two hours now. It’s long 15 hour drive all by yourself. This was not the first time she has driven home from Wyoming alone.
I don’t know for sure what time it was, but sometime after 8:00 am, my husband came into my office quickly. He hung out until my call was completed, advised me to log out of work we needed to leave.
Apparently my daughter had a single car rollover accident. She was cut off by another driver. She was on a rural highway doing 60 plus miles per hour, when the driver behind her decided to pass. When the driver cut back over, they cut it too short. My daughter then jerked the wheel, to get out of the way, that caused her car to also roll two times. The other driver never stopped. She was able to flag down someone who took her to the Police department.
Although she had already spoken to my husband and she advised she was not injured, we packed up our things and headed to pick her up. In between all this, we located someone in Wyoming who was able to go and retrieve her from Nebraska and at least bring her back to her place in Wyoming.
She later sent pictures of her vehicle, it was totaled. I know she’s ok, I’ve been texting her since we left, but until you see your child and hold them in your arms, you don’t really believe it.
The only damage that was sustained was the damage to her car totaling it. She also had some dented pop cans, but other than that nothing.
When we asked her about it she said she was very scared, but also told God, that if it was the case, she was ready to “return home”. Remember, she walked away from this with only a memory.
That’s not to say that she didn’t have nightmares after the incident. She did have a slight injury to one of her breast but very minor, a few days later.
She is now working at her summer job and driving as if nothing ever happened. I’m so thankful God was with her that day. I’m sure you can see, why for me, Friday the 13th is very lucky.
I think Psalm 23:4 is the perfect Psalm for this reflection.
Psalm 23:4 ESV
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.