God with Me
Crunch. The impact slammed me forward and my seat belt jerked me back. That did NOT just happen, I thought, my mind surprised and incredulous. It didn’t take long for it to become a believer. I had definitely been rear-ended on the interstate, on a Friday night, no less.
Hands shaking and heart pounding, I pulled onto the shoulder lane. I had seen the traffic incident ahead of me and had slowed down accordingly. Unfortunately, the driver behind me failed to note either and rammed into the rear of my vehicle. I suppose since the driver-at-fault hadn’t tapped the breaks, the car behind them had no warning. The result was a three-vehicle crash with me in the lead.
I got out of my car and checked on the other drivers. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries. Since three vehicles were involved, with damage and potential minor injuries, I knew I’d be at the scene for a bit. But because of the other crashes ahead of us, one reportedly involving nearly a dozen vehicles, I figured our bit had at least an hour’s wait before a state trooper would be at the scene. Well, this wasn’t my first rodeo with a crash. There were things that could be done while we waited.
I put a couple of flares out, took photos of the vehicle damages, and wrote down the other drivers’ information for insurance purposes. During that time, multiple firetrucks stopped momentarily to check on us and ensure our crash scene did not have any major injuries. I am so grateful that they took those few precious seconds to check on us before rolling forward to what I assume were much more serious collisions ahead of us. To each of the firefighters who stopped and gave us a thumbs up to make sure we were okay, “Thank you.”
A state trooper eventually arrived and I was able to get the crash report number. By that point, the driver-at-fault had already left the scene. I won’t go into the details as to why, but I will say that my cop hunch was affirmed once I talked to the state trooper and he had run the at-fault driver’s information. After exchanging all necessary information, I finally made my way home.
A week and change has gone by, and I’ve been struggling. The morning of the accident, I had prayed to the Lord for protection as I drove down the alleyway behind our townhouse. Literally, right as I was praying, I narrowly avoided being t-boned by someone pulling out of their driveway, their view blocked by a high fence. Once that adrenaline surge wore off, I marveled at the Lord’s tangible answer to my prayer in that moment for His protection. Perhaps that is why I felt like I struggled later that night when I got hit.
How could I be involved in yet another accident? Weren’t the first two already enough, along with a separate, serious injury? Will my body ever have a chance to heal and me to feel “normal” again? As I started to deal with the physical pain of yet another trauma, I also knew I would have to deal with the emotional trauma of the accident. I needed to shift my perspective to one of gratitude, acknowledging that God was with me in that crash, protecting me from more serious harm. It could have been so much worse.
It can be difficult at times to find something to be grateful for when everything around us is teeming with chaos. Satan tries to paralyze us with with fear, going about like a roaring lion, seeking those whom he may devour.[1] But I was reminded that I serve the King who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
His roar is bigger.
So this Christmas season, no matter how chaotic life might seem, let us delight in the security that Emmanuel has come. God Himself is with us. Always.
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[1] See 1 Peter 5: 8