(For an introduction to this post, please read the previous post, Courage! first.)
On July 3, 1997, I flipped and totaled my older brother's truck. I was leaving my parents' house to go to a city-wide 4th of July celebration in my town. I remember that his truck was parked in the garage. When I got in the truck I felt like something was weird. You know that feeling like you are forgetting something. I got out of the truck and walked back in the house. I could not figure out why I was having that weird feeling. Their was an electric saw in the floorboard of the passenger side of the truck. When I went to get back in the truck, I decided to get the saw out ( I was 16 year old girly girl.....I didn't want to be seen with my brother's carpenter tools). :) I started down the steep hill on the dirt road from my parents house. I think I was trying to buckle up, turn up the radio, and shift all at the same time. His truck was a 4X4 standard with mud tires. Before I knew it the truck was out of control on the loose gravel of the dirt road. It flipped over and actually turned completely around in the road.
Here's the cool thing. To this day I can remember the feeling that I had as the truck was flipping. It seemed like it was happening in slow motion and the whole time all I could feel was an abundance of peace. It must sound cliche and I don't know exactly how to explain it. I just never felt fear. Anyway, the truck came to a stop and I climbed out the back window and ran back up the steep hill to my house. It was actually when I was running back to the house that I became hysterical. It wasn't the realization of what just happened that scared me, it was realizing that I had just totaled my brother's truck a week before his wedding!!! Yeh, bad timing on my part. I think maybe my sister-in-law has forgiven me. :) I just didn't think they had enough stress already with wedding plans! J/K!
I see God's hand in this situation, because if I had not taken the saw out of the truck it would have fallen on me, probably cutting me severely. Also, I had just broken up with my boyfriend a day before this and he was performing in the city-wide celebration. I was really going to see him. I wonder if I had been able to go to the celebration what would have happened. Would we have spoken to each other, ignored each other, maybe even said something hurtful that would destroy our relationship. You see that boy turned out to be my husband and this summer we will have been married ten years. God knew the plans He had for us and obviously He did not want me at that celebration......He could have just given me a flat tire or something, though. You know God, always dramatic. :)
Sometimes God's hand is working when we can't even see it.
