A Car Accident

"sometimes the strongest people are the ones who love beyond all the faults, who cry behind closed doors and fight battles that nobody knows about" -unknown

One week ago today, I woke up a little later than normal, quickly began getting ready, and within agonizing minutes of pinning my hair properly into a "sock" bun (minus the sock), I rushed to my car donning a new Lauren Conrad dress. (ladies check out her Kohls line- kinda love it all). Jumping onto the 15 south, I settled in for my daily 'trek', a 40 minute commute to work. With the affects that only wearing a new dress has, I was enjoying the cruise. Country music was serenading me and all was a-okay. 

I turned off the freeway and began winding through the backroads on my way to work amid moderate traffic. Coming up to a signal, I look to my right for what felt like a brief glance. A police officer caught the attention of my imagination as he was strolling out of a house wearing blue latex gloves. En route to his patrol car, he was in the process of taking off the gloves while also holding a brown lunch sak. (I hope to my defense as I set the scene playing out before me, y'all can relate to my spike of intrigue and curiosity with him and his latex gloves) My mind was swirling with questions: 'was it evidence? What was in the bag? What happened in that house? Was it something bloody- ugh I hate blood'….. and so it was going on and on while I turned my head back toward the traffic in front of me- but my only sight was the back of a Ford WAY WAY too close and the incoming explosion of my air bag straight toward my face. 

The Crunch of the Engine that saved my life. 

My Poor Car right after. 

I didn't even hit the brakes. 

I never saw the stopped vehicles coming. 

My momentary dive into the depths of my imagination cost me significantly. 

Alarmed, dazed, confused, and still swirling with my previous questions about the officer collided with new circulating questions about what just happened was quickly shut down when the officer who distracted me earlier was at my window asking if I needed paramedics. 

The breath I held was released. I don't remember answering him, but I'm certain I said no. I simply remember feeling like 'yes call them! Someone crashed into me!!' But as smoke filled my lungs from the burning acid pouring from the battery, I was jolted out of my disoriented stupor and quickly jumped out, away from my vehicle. Who knew if it would explode?! All I knew was "get out". 

Putting distance between me and the car allowed me to survey the damage a fleeting distraction had caused- my gut confirmed what my eyes saw- my car was totaled. My first thought, "what is my dad going to say?" My second thought, "what happened?"

One of my bruised knees. 

Eventually I got through to my parents, my work and friends. Two friends and co-workers were on their way to pick-me up/take care of me, and I waited for the tow truck. After being checked out medically, I walked into work 4 hours late with only two bruised knees, and one abrasion from the tightened seatbelt. What an act of protection from my Heavenly Father. 

Life is truly a blessing and an unmerited gift. Each breath we are given is the reminder that we are not invincible- we are fragile. For the second time in my life, this happened to flash before my eyes giving me a reminder of who I am in comparison to who God is.  

Later that day, my dad picked me up from work, and we stopped at the storage space where my car was to grab last minute belongings. My dad could not believe his eyes- the damage was immense. An adjuster from our car insurance was present as we did this, and he gave us his brief synopsis. The car was a total loss. The engine had been cracked in half, and he was afraid to ask what happened to the driver. Realizing I was the driver, he was blown away. In his experience, it was one of the worst wrecks. He could not believe his eyes that physically there wasn't any damage to me or that I was even alive. He said someone must have been watching out for me. 

Isn't that true for all of us? If you're alive, whether Christian or not, God is your Creator, and he has given you life. He can take that life whenever He chooses. Each and every day we exist, we know without a doubt we all have someone watching out/over us… his name is God. 

God's steadfast care for me continued throughout the past week. He provided enough $ from the insurance to pay back my Dad's loan on the car I totaled, and today provided a 2011 used Jetta at the price per month I can afford! What a blessing! 

My Dad brought me some Krispy Kremes!

Experiencing the emotional stress of an accident like the one I was in last week has given me pause to reflect on how little I really know about the on-goings within peoples' lives. Throughout my day I encounter a lot of people- strangers on the road or in a store, friends, family and co-workers. But I don't know everything that has happened in their day or their last week. Just as not everyone I encountered 1 week ago knew about my accident… the quote I began this post with truly speaks to the reality of our encounters with others. 

I don't know what lies beneath the surface in everyone's hearts. Is it anger because of a recent fight with family? Is it pain because of suffering? Is it confusion over the frustration of living in this world? or is it joy over a recent victory?

We don't know what each person has been through. And we can't control that entirely. What we can know is how successfully we impact that person's day in the brief encounter we have. A smile, an encouraging word, a thank you, a deeper question beyond the surface of life, a prayer, or simply listening first. 

Many people fight battles unknown to the friends, family and strangers around them. But I, as a Christian, can make known the faith that secures me to the bedrock of God's loving comfort when the wind and rain of the current storm passes through attempting to tear me away. One person's action, like sending me a note of encouragement after my accident, can be just the smallest ray of sunshine that moves me to hold tighter knowing this storm too shall pass. There is hope for the ones who persevere until the end. Choosing to love others despite knowing their current season of life may be just the thing they need to help them through the tears they cry behind closed doors. <3 

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5

"But the one who endures to the end will be saved" Matthew 24:13