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Spared
I'm still shaking. On my way back to Columbia today from Jeff City, I got caught in a huge rainstorm. I didn't think much of it, because I was pumped about my successful morning at the Capitol and enjoying happy songs on my ipod, (and had fallen into the trap of being too comfortable with driving and not giving car accidents the reverence they deserve), but then everything changed in a flash. I looked down at my ipod for just a few seconds, and when I looked up, the SUV in front of me was braking nearly to a stop and I was still going 70 mph. Instantly I gasped and swerved into the left lane, where there was also a car, so I had to swerve back into the right lane immediately. With the highway being so wet and my jerky movements going so fast, I started hydroplaning out of control. My steering wheel and brakes suddenly became useless and I was at the mercy of physics. I don't know how many times my car whipped from side to side; I'd guess 4 or 5. I nearly hit the guard rail before spinning around 180 degrees, where my car came to a complete stop -- facing the OPPOSITE DIRECTION on Highway 63!
By a miracle of God, I didn't hit anything or anyone. There wasn't a scratch on my car. But now I was really in a pickle -- my car was stalled out in the left lane of the highway, facing oncoming traffic. I started to panic when I realized I couldn't turn the key. My car wouldn't turn on or off. I flicked my hazard lights on and tried to catch my breath. A white van was charging at me, flying down the highway in the rain and fog. I don't know when they saw me, but I remember thinking I was about to die before the finally darted into the outside lane. Cars were zigging and zagging before my eyes as they desperately tried to avoid my car essentially parked in the middle of the highway. Another car zoomed toward me in the left hand lane and cut over at the last minute. In retrospect, I can't believe how calm I was this whole time. I certainly was hyperventilating and tachycardic and hypertensive, but by the grace of God I was still functioning. I frantically tried to turn the key in the ignition to no avail. I fished my cell phone out of my purse and thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, this is really happening, I have to call 911!"
I glanced down at my gears, scarred to call 911 but scared to die. For a moment I had the crazy notion of getting out of the car and running into the nearby ditch. Then it hit me. When I had spun out of control, I had pushed the gear into neutral. That's why my car wouldn't turn on or off. With a quick burst of purpose, I put the car in park, turned it off, started the engine again, and was back in drive. Beyond the miracles that I was still alive, still breathing, had a perfectly intact vehicle, there were no semis in sight, and I had retained some rational thought, Jesus blessed me once more: I was only twenty or so feet from an emergency turn-around spot...and it was the middle of a weekday. When no one was coming I drove forward the 20 or so feet (going the wrong direction on the highway), and turned around on that pavement that ambulances and firetrucks use during emergencies -- I think this qualified! I pulled back out onto 63, and quivered in shock and disbelief as I drove the last few miles back to Columbia with my hands in the 10 and 2 position. Needless to say, I didn't touch my ipod.
Somehow I made it all the way to my driveway. I turned the car off, turned the lights off, and just lost it. I balled my eyes out, just sitting in my driveway, not believing what had just happened, or how incredibly fortunate I was to be spared. I know that every breath I draw in is from the Lord, but I have never before been so acutely aware of the fragility of life and how quickly those breaths may be gone. I told my mom about it this afternoon and of course really freaked her out. She told me I must have one heck of a guardian angel. I should have died, my gosh, at least been hurt, at least scratched up my car for the sake of all reason! God was at work. He is beyond reason and the laws of physics. Not my time to come Home yet. I know this is going to sound just like Simon Birch...but God must have a really, really awesome plan in mind for me.
By a miracle of God, I didn't hit anything or anyone. There wasn't a scratch on my car. But now I was really in a pickle -- my car was stalled out in the left lane of the highway, facing oncoming traffic. I started to panic when I realized I couldn't turn the key. My car wouldn't turn on or off. I flicked my hazard lights on and tried to catch my breath. A white van was charging at me, flying down the highway in the rain and fog. I don't know when they saw me, but I remember thinking I was about to die before the finally darted into the outside lane. Cars were zigging and zagging before my eyes as they desperately tried to avoid my car essentially parked in the middle of the highway. Another car zoomed toward me in the left hand lane and cut over at the last minute. In retrospect, I can't believe how calm I was this whole time. I certainly was hyperventilating and tachycardic and hypertensive, but by the grace of God I was still functioning. I frantically tried to turn the key in the ignition to no avail. I fished my cell phone out of my purse and thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, this is really happening, I have to call 911!"
I glanced down at my gears, scarred to call 911 but scared to die. For a moment I had the crazy notion of getting out of the car and running into the nearby ditch. Then it hit me. When I had spun out of control, I had pushed the gear into neutral. That's why my car wouldn't turn on or off. With a quick burst of purpose, I put the car in park, turned it off, started the engine again, and was back in drive. Beyond the miracles that I was still alive, still breathing, had a perfectly intact vehicle, there were no semis in sight, and I had retained some rational thought, Jesus blessed me once more: I was only twenty or so feet from an emergency turn-around spot...and it was the middle of a weekday. When no one was coming I drove forward the 20 or so feet (going the wrong direction on the highway), and turned around on that pavement that ambulances and firetrucks use during emergencies -- I think this qualified! I pulled back out onto 63, and quivered in shock and disbelief as I drove the last few miles back to Columbia with my hands in the 10 and 2 position. Needless to say, I didn't touch my ipod.
Somehow I made it all the way to my driveway. I turned the car off, turned the lights off, and just lost it. I balled my eyes out, just sitting in my driveway, not believing what had just happened, or how incredibly fortunate I was to be spared. I know that every breath I draw in is from the Lord, but I have never before been so acutely aware of the fragility of life and how quickly those breaths may be gone. I told my mom about it this afternoon and of course really freaked her out. She told me I must have one heck of a guardian angel. I should have died, my gosh, at least been hurt, at least scratched up my car for the sake of all reason! God was at work. He is beyond reason and the laws of physics. Not my time to come Home yet. I know this is going to sound just like Simon Birch...but God must have a really, really awesome plan in mind for me.