WARNING: PARENTS READ WITH CAUTION–THIS STORY IS GUTWRENCHING
When I was a little girl, we would call something fortuitous a “smile from God” or a “God smile”. I can’t give any particular examples from my youth, but it goes a little something like this:
You desperately need a job. One evening before you go to bed you think about a friend you knew in High School and you are kind of taken aback because you hadn’t thought about that person in years–the next day you run into that person at the grocery store, and they just happen to know someone who is looking to hire a person with exactly your qualifications!
That is a “God smile”.
So, anyways…as I was folding laundry I had the news on and in the “personal interest” segment, the newscaster reminded viewers of an incident that occurred back in May of this year.
In what I can only describe as unspeakable tragedy, the lives of three young children, Kyle (5) Emma (4) and Katie (2), were snatched away when a big rig traveling at 55-60 mph slammed into the back of the family minivan that was at a full stop on the highway. Mother, Lori Coble, was driving and although she she sustained serious injuries, she survived–as did her passenger.
As I watched the story I could barely swallow. How does one survive? How do you get out of bed, and brush your teeth in the morning? The segment replayed an earlier interview that the Cobels had given…Only months after this horrific loss the two, huddled together on the sofa in their family home, gave an interview about their push for an inquiry into traffic safety in California and how they were dealing with the aftermath of losing their precious little ones.
I held my breath as the reporter painfully asked if they were thinking about having more children…they smiled and said yes that they were–they had considered a fourth before the accident…and that they were simply childless parents at this point. They said that they lived for their kids and couldn’t imagine a future without more…
When the tape was over, the reporter in the studio announced that news had come to them this morning that Lori and Chris Cobel were expecting….triplets–due in MAY, the very same month (exactly one year) after the accident….and guess what else? Two girls and one boy.
What can be said? It seems that there cannot be any comfort to those parents, and then “God smiles”.
It just forces you to step back and realize that…that is no accident, there is a miracle and a blessing in those little souls waiting to enter this world…light, in a very dark time.
I am sure I join many in saying that my thoughts will be with the Cobels during the next several months.
Cobel Memorial Website: http://lifetomotion.com/login/coble/index.html
Cobel Accident Story from the OC Register: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1726536.php
Does anyone have a tissue?
That is a touching story, but if they name the children the same names I am going to call it too weird (wink…ok, sorry, the story was just too sad, I had to put a little humor in it).