Providence

Sometimes it’s the big miracles that catch my attention, but as often as not it’s the little things that make me catch my breath and recognize God’s hand of protection in my life.

For instance, a few months ago, I was driving home from work stressing over something that obviously wasn’t important because I don’t remember it anymore. Probably something ended up costing more than I wanted it to, and I was mentally whining over all this money I didn’t want to be spending, and how stressful my life was. In the midst of my thoughts I felt a slight bump, and realized that I’d let my foot off the brake and drifted gently into the car in front of me. We pulled over, got out, examined our cars, and found not even a scratch. So we didn’t even exchange ID, just ascertained that the other was fine, and drove our separate ways. All the way home I was struck with gratitude at God’s protection of me. He could have taken it all away from me if He had wanted to, but He didn’t. I could so easily have been involved in a major accident that cost us lots of money and endless hassle, and quite honestly, drifting off into thoughts while driving (or looking into the mirror instead of at the road) is perhaps not as uncommon for me as it should be, so the truly amazing thing is that nothing bad had happened to me yet, not the other way around. It was a very welcome reminder that my life is in God’s hands at every moment of every day; it was an experience to put tangibility to the verse, ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.’

Yesterday on my way to work I was reminded again of the frailty of our earthly security and how our fortunes can change in the twinkling of an eye. I was driving to work and had stopped behind a line of traffic while we waited for what Grace Matte once referred to as a yellow incarceration vehicle (school bus). I heard a wild squealing of brakes and almost immediately felt a jarring impact as a car slammed into me from behind. It was the most serious accident I have ever been involved in, and I was shaking as I pulled over to a safe place. I was about to get out and exchange info with the other driver, and had visions of getting stabbed and left for dead in a hit-and-run….better call someone first to alert them to the situation, I reasoned, so I’d have a card up my sleeve if the other driver proved eager to cover his tracks. (I’m full of instincts about bluffs and cards up your sleeve, and know you never, EVER say ‘no’ if you’re revealing a secret to someone, no matter how much you trust them, and they say, ‘Interesting. And you haven’t told anyone else this yet, correct?’ because that’s the obvious cue that they’re the double-crossing traitor and are going to silence you, so instead you bluff them and say, ‘Actually, I have written out an entire synopsis of my theory, along with proof, and it’s sitting in a safe-deposit box and the key is with a person I trust along with instructions to open and read the contents in the event of my mysterious death or disappearance…’ Yes, all this was going through my head as I pulled over and decided I really should call someone, just in case I ended up dead or missing.) So I called Michael and gave what, in retrospect, probably was not the most comforting or helpful news bulletin. ‘I’ve just been in an accident, but I think I’m okay…don’t worry, I’ll call you when I get a chance.’

It was pretty scary, actually. The back of my car was all smashed in, and we were both rattled as we tried to remember what you do in this situation. I thought we should write down each other’s license plates. But wasn’t there supposed to be an exchange of insurance information, too? (By the way, everyone should read an article about what to do in this type of situation. I thought I had at some point or another, but I didn’t know for sure exactly what to do. Were we supposed to call the police? But no one was hurt, as far as we could tell.) Michael called back then and said that we were supposed to call the police, simply so they could file an accident report. A police officer arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, wrote everything up, gave me his card with the accident report, and told me I could go if my car was drivable.

The really amazing thing is how God has protected us in spite of the serious circumstances. Everyone at work was very sympathetic, supportive, and full of good advice. My boss told me to check in with my doctor even if I felt all right, so I was able to get an appointment with my OB. They were concerned about trauma and possibly premature delivery, so I spent the rest of the afternoon resting in a back room hooked up to a fetal monitor and listening to the soothing sound of Baby’s heartbeat. (Have you ever put a stethoscope over your ears and tapped the sensor pad with your finger to hear the thump? Baby kept kicking the monitor and interrupting the heartbeat with static – sounded very similar.) The insurance company has been great, and is providing a rental car while mine is in the shop – I drop it off tonight at their recommended repair shop, and pick up the rental car that they will have on-site for me. It is all so painless, so easy, so stress-free.

Despite my best intention of not suffering from whiplash, because that seems like such a cliché, and I was positive that if I felt any soreness yesterday it would only come about from the power of suggestion, I really am hurting. More so today than yesterday, my neck and shoulders are really sore and stiff. However, I’m grateful that it wasn’t worse; I’m grateful that Baby is so apparently all right; I’m grateful that everything is being so well taken care of by insurance. Yet another reminder that God governs in the affairs of man.