I Will Rescue You

I had a completely different post planned for today but I really wanted to share the day I had yesterday.

source

Yesterday morning, my mom called me to tell me about the passing of one of our Ride 4 Life cyclists. He was riding yesterday morning when he was struck by a car and killed. My heart dropped when she said it. We all know the dangers of cycling but when it’s one of your own, your heart just breaks. For his wife, his children, and his precious grandbaby. Will you please pray for comfort and peace for this family as they grieve this shocking and tragic death? The only light of hope they have in this situation is knowing that he was a man of God and will be spending eternity in Heaven.

And for that, I am thankful.

With the unsettling news on the forefront of my mind yesterday, I left work feeling drained–emotionally and physically–from a busy afternoon. I got in my car, turned on my Bible app like I do every afternoon, and headed to my parents house {where we’re staying while our floors are being refinished}. It was a sunny afternoon and between the heat of the sun and monotone voice on the Bible app, I got incredibly sleepy and felt my eyes getting heavier. In the hopes of finding some upbeat music to wake me up, I looked down to switch my stereo from my iPhone to the radio.

I do this all the time. I know exactly where the button is and how many times I have to push it to switch to tuner mode. I couldn’t have been looking away from for more than a split second.

But when I looked up, my SUV was barreling towards the car in front of me that had slowed down to make a right turn. I had to have been less than a foot away from smashing into his bumper.

Out of panic and no time to stop, I jerked my steering wheel to the left into oncoming traffic with a car coming directly towards me, with another car and tow truck following closely behind it. I had no choice but to jerk my steering wheel back to the right, trying to avoid a head-on collision. Overcompensating, I went off the shoulder of the road and lost control of my car when I pulled the wheel back to the left to try to get back on the road. Losing control sent me into a 180 ° spin, ending up in the middle of the road, facing the opposite direction I had been traveling seconds before and feet away from the tow truck who thankfully, was able to come to a stop before t-boning my car on the drivers side.

And than I lost it all, sitting in the middle of the road, terrified, shaking, crying, unable to process what just happened. My door opened and the driver of the tow truck and the car I swerved to miss in the first place were both standing there asking if I was okay.

All I could think to mumble out was “did I hit anyone?” Quickly realizing that the accident earlier that morning could have happened the same way.

Praise Jesus, I didn’t.

The tow truck driver said in all his years of driving, he’d never seen someone be able to hold on to the car like I did and he just knew my car was going to flip and he’d have to be pulling my car out of the ditch. He credited it to my good driving {that’s certainly not the case} but I knew it was something else. Someone else.  Someone who carries me and rescues me daily.

God surrounded me with His protection and kept my car from flipping and hitting multiple cars. The tow truck driver offered to move my car out of the road and while he was doing that, I told the other guy that I had just lost a family friend that morning and my nerves were already torn up. He looked at me and said “Don’t worry, you’ll be making it home tonight.” Cue more tears!

They both stayed by my side until I had calmed down , reassuring me that I was okay and my car was okay. And I’m so incredibly grateful that they stopped. The man driving the car I almost hit showed me so much grace when he could have easily been irate and chewed me out for being reckless. Instead, he chose to be compassionate and caring. There are not many men left in this world like the two that stopped with me last night. I only wish I had gotten their names.

All of this has been playing over and over in my head and I’ve tried to come up with a reason as to how I didn’t flip my car. I’ve never been the driver in a wreck and I really don’t know what to do when you lose control of your car. And all I can come up with is this…

” I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.“

Isaiah 46:4

PSA…pay attention to the road! Even if it’s just the radio, don’t take your eyes off the road.