As we celebrate Abby's 10th birthday this weekend, we've gotta remember that we're cheering a LIFE that could've easily ended 15 months in, as she was in the back seat 8 1/2 years ago...

So when people hear about the accident and nicely say how God must have saved my life for a purpose; I always say - "Abby's too!"

"Abigail" in Hebrew means "source of joy," or "father's joy." And Scripture says, "The joy of the LORD is your strength" (Neh. 8:10). If you wanna keep reading, you'll see a piece from my soon coming BOOK showing how Abby was a source of joy to her father giving me much needed strength to carry on:

One afternoon, before her bedtime, I reached for a pill, to take my pain medicine.

Abby was three or four years old and she noted, "Daddy's taking his medicine."

I replied, "Yep, from when I hurt my head and neck in the car accident."

Abby then said, "I know, I remember."

I thought, "Sure, you remember."

Abby was only 15 months old the day of the accident and no one had ever told her

what happened that day. She had bare bone details to give her an understanding of why I

went through all I did.

So I decided to dig a little deeper. "What do you remember, kiddo?" I asked.

She answered, "They took you away for a while in a copler, and I was sad" (in

Abby-terms at that age, "a copler" meant a helicopter).

To that response, I nearly collapsed. When I gathered my thoughts and emotions,

I faintly replied, "Do you remember anything else, Abby?"

"Yes," she said. "They brought you back after a while, and I was happy."

At this, I cried. I smiled. I hugged her, and I thanked God for her sweet child's

heart and for giving us that brief but poignant interaction.