Day 7: A picture of my most treasured item.
My family.
This photo is from a life changing day in early 2010, just after Hubby's big promotion and our move to a new state. On this day, he received a call at work and rushed over to us.
They were watching this being towed away. Our minivan.
Baby Boy and I were coming back from running errands and we were hit by a young person who was speeding and texting. We rolled and slammed onto the pavement and our lives changed forever.
It's sad that the moment of the crash was the first time in my life that I knew...
absolutely knew I was saved and that I had nothing to fear if I died that day. Such peace washed over me in the midst of the trauma. I'm sad to say I hadn't known for sure that God had forgiven me and claimed me for His own until that instant. But it was life changing because I also realized I hadn't been living by faith at all. I knew all the words, but if I breathed my last and had to stand before my God that day I would hang my head in shame. I would have nothing to show Him for my time on earth.
Then another horrifying thought hit me. What if my poor innocent baby boy in the back seat was dead? Where would he be for eternity? I hadn't done my job as a mother and prepared him or taught him much about our faith since his birth. Could I handle the guilt if I turned around and saw his broken lifeless body in front of me? In spite of my fear, I had to look. And when I did, there he was: perfect and unbruised and securely strapped into his carseat. He was calm too. And it helped to calm me seeing his sweet face looking at me with complete trust. He was fine because I was there with him. And I was fine because I knew my Lord wouldn't have saved us without a reason.
We heard from the rescue workers that they arrived with sorrow in their hearts. Seeing the type of impact and the shape our car was in, they fully expected to be pulling corpses out of there. But there we were. Totally fine. It puzzled them. But not me. I saw everything with new eyes. They tried the jaws of life on my door and a chainsaw on the windshield. I pulled a blanket over us to shield us from the flying glass and sat there holding our son and whispering Sunday school songs in his ear. Later he told me that he saw Jesus under the blanket with us. We emerged, disheveled and sprinkled with debris, to see Hubby who had rushed over on his motorcycle from work.
For months afterward, if Baby Boy had a nightmare about the crash, I would sit in his room with him underneath a blanket singing songs about Jesus. It was the only thing that calmed him down enough for him to get back to sleep.
After that day, I started searching the Scriptures for truths and was comforted and often convicted with what I found. Baby Boy began learning memory verses and we make a conscious effort to talk about our faith every day. I praise God that I only walked away with a sealtbelt bruise across my chest and a few scratches on my legs. Baby Boy had nothing. Not a bruise or scratch on him. That is a miracle and I will never forget God's mercy.
So yes, the most cherished and precious thing to me besides my God is my family. I will always be grateful for them.
My parents. So, it's not one person, but I couldn't mention one without the other, because they have supported and prayed me through so many situations in life. I am extremely thankful for them and the relationship we have now. My parents have watched me go through rebellion, severe illness, bad decisions, more bad decisions and then some. And you know what? They have truly loved me through it all. Inexplicably, I believe they've grown to love me more as time goes on. And the feeling is mutual. I love you, Mom and Dad, and I thank the Lord for giving me to you as a daughter! Thank you for always loving me and blessing my life no matter what. Alofa atu. 
