Lucky, blessed or just thankful?

I had an unfortunate accident last week, which resulted in our large steel toolbox falling on me in the laundry. It hit my head and arm, resulting in some impressive bruising (which the photo does not really do credit to!) and quite a bit of pain.

However, when I thought about it later I realised it could have been much worse. My baby daughter had been in the room only minutes before; I was looking down (not up) so it hit me on the skull rather than the face; it hit me with a flat part, rather than a corner (which, I suspect, could have caused quite severe damage); and if it landed any other way, it could have broken my foot, nose, wrist, etc.

So, when I later explained what had happened to people, I was forced to look at the language I use. It's easy just to say "I was lucky", but I don't like saying that, as it implies that's all it was. I feel unnatural saying "it was a blessing", and really, being hit in the head by a steel toolbox is not a blessing!

In the end, I realised I was thankful. Thankful it had not been worse and that all was fine, and it was a timely reminder to look at how we store some things. Of course, I mean thankful to God, who controls all these events, large and small.


As an aside, I was amazed how few people commented on the bruises except close Christian friends, quite a few who joked something along the lines of "has Husband been at you again?". It did make me think how unprepared we are to confront potential signs of domestic abuse. I wonder if I would ask a friend or an acquaintance what had happened if she sported similar marks, and in a way to allow her to speak whatever the truth was (although, I suspect victims of domestic abuse don't show their scars quite so openly and happily as I did). These are much more sobering thoughts.