A Mistake*

I sat down intending to write about my crazy experience at Big Sister's gymnastics class. Let's just say that at the time my hands were a bit fuller than my heart. However, later this afternoon, something happened that nearly broke my heart.

Big Sister went down for a nap just as Little Man was getting up from his nap. I was looking forward to the special time with Little Man. He wanted to swing, so I quickly gave him a snack and fed Baby Girl.

After I cleaned up Little Man and changed Baby Girl, we were ready. I put Baby Girl in her car seat and set it in the middle of the kitchen table. Then, I got distracted by Little Man and we headed out the door. That was my mistake.

I pushed Little Man in his favorite swing. Five minutes later I headed back into the house to make sure that Baby Girl had fallen asleep. What I found still makes me sick to my stomach.

Baby Girl's car seat was tipped over in the middle of the table, but she wasn't in it. Instead, she was laying on the floor screaming in pain. I scooped her up and grabbed the phone. The pediatrician sent us to the Children's Hospital Urgent Care.

Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. A scan showed that she was fine. Praise God.

But, as we answered the different questions at the hospital, a few words kept making me feel sick to my stomach all over again.

"She wasn't strapped in and..." the nurses and doctors all said to make sure they had the story right.

All I could do was acknowledge what had happened and hope I didn't start crying.

I did something I know not to do. In my carelessness, I endangered my child. How could I?

As I've pondered this tonight, I'm close to tears. I'm so very grateful that God watched out for my baby even when I was distracted. I'm so glad that He is bigger than my carelessness.

But, I know there have been mamas with similar stories that don't have happy endings. These are the stories that make the news. They are the same stories that used to have me shaking my head and thinking "how could that mama ______!?"

No more. Tonight, I will be praying for parents who've had their children injured, or worse, due to carelessness. I've no doubt the majority of them love their children and meant them no harm. My heart breaks for them.

At the same time, I'm going to hold my Baby Girl and once more thank the Lord for His sweet care for her. This world is full of sadness. I'm so glad today had a happy ending.


*I hesitated to post this because I worried that others may judge me. But, the fact is lives, including my own, are full of moments we wish they weren't. We all have things we wish we'd done differently. So, I've decided to post this with the hope that anyone who reads this would pray for the children and their families whose innocent mistakes resulted in stories without the happy endings.