Land (and Life) in Perspective

Two weeks ago I took my 5 year old son with me to put up some signs advertising some of my listings. While we were out another realtor called and asked me to meet him at one of my listings for a showing. I informed him my son was with me, and that we would meet him in an hour. After tamping the last bit of dirt into the hole, I loaded up my tools and headed toward the showing. My son and I were going to stop at a gas station and fill up my truck and get him some Gummy Worms. While we were discussing the Gummy Worms, the car in the oncoming lane of the bridge slid out of control and hit my truck head-on .

When I woke up I could hear my son screaming for me and could see the total destruction of my full-sized truck. I'm not sure how I exited the vehicle, but I do remember the ambulance ride to the hospital. John David is fine, with no broken bones or major injuries, and hopefully I will be out of this neck brace in about 4 more weeks.

God was definitely watching over us and the driver of the other vehicle; all of us walked away. The past 2 weeks have allowed some time for reflection on the important things in this life. Family, friends, and faith top the list as far as I'm concerned. The big land deal I missed the day before suddenly vanished from memory, and every glance at my son, daughter, or wife brought an eruption of emotion that was not easy to conceal. This event has given me a chance to reflect on why I do what I do and who it is for. Being a land agent is fun and rewarding, but too often I let it consume my thoughts and energy. I have prayed several times in the past 2 weeks that I would not waste the lessons from this accident. Take a minute (or an hour) and think about the really important things, and why you do what you do, and who it's all for. I don't want to waste my life or be consumed by trivial things. My hope is that you, too, will take a moment to seek clarity on what's important.

Jonathan Goode is a professional land agent with AlaLandCo. He serves the historic Black Belt of West Alabama. You can see more of his listings at www.jonathangoode.com or email at jonathan@alalandco.com