Tomorrow I will leave for Atlanta to visit my family. Although my husband I usually make the trip together this time I will be making the trek by myself. I have felt nervous and anxious about the trip mainly due to the length of the trip but also because of the issue of safety on the road. As I pondered over this, I realized that at least three times God has given me safety in situations involving highway accidents.
The first time was when I was about 13 years old. My brother and I decided to get the mail and it was often a race to see who could get it first. Since we lived in the country this meant crossing the highway and being careful. On one particular instance I forgot and dashed across the road. I didn’t see the approaching car and although I made it safely back across. A policeman drove into our driveway and had a chat with my mother. It wasn’t until then that I realized that I had come very close to being hit.
The next accident was in December 1980. I had been teaching and was headed home with a carload of kids. I was tired and the kids were ready to get home and play. I stopped at the stop sign, looked each way, and then pulled out in traffic expecting to stop in the median until I could safely cross the other lane. I heard the crash of metal and realized I had been hit in the front part of the driver’s side of the car. Although I had looked very carefully there was a car in a blind spot and it came down the highway towards me. I was quite shook up and the officer helped to get the scene cleared. He offered to take the kids and I home since my car wouldn’t stat. What was so significant about this even was that I was eight months pregnant. God had protected me from harm and allowed the baby to be safe.
The last incident happened about a week ago. My husband and I were coming home from a trip and we both were tired. We had taken turns driving and didn’t realize exactly how exhausted we were. We stopped at the light in the city and got ready to make a left turn. There were two lanes of traffic that turned left so we wanted to be sure that we stayed in the correct lane. The left turn was made without any problem—or so we thought. Both of us looked up and saw that we were headed towards a sea of headlights. The turn had put us driving directly into oncoming traffic. I saw my whole life flash before me and at the last minutes my husband turned the car to the right and we went over the median into the right lane. Fortunately the median strip was very low and there were no cars anywhere close when the car moved into the correct lane. Shaking, we stopped and thanked God for protection. We also decided that we needed to take a break and get our focus back.
As I prepare for the trip tomorrow I am reminded of each of these situations and will be sure to ask God to be with me throughout the whole trip. My Grandmother always mentioned her favorite passage about safety whenever she came to visit. Psalm 121 was her source of comfort and helped her to remember that God was around her and protected her. “I will lift up my eyes to the hills From Whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber…The Lord will preserve your going out and your coming From this time forth, and even forevermore.” (Psalm 121:1-3;8)
(Originally posted on February 8th on another website)
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