Bountiful Blessings # 2

[This self-imposed blogging break is interrupted by a blessing. To find out what "Bountiful Blessings" is, go here. Don't forget to leave your blessing at the end!]

The fatigue rolled through her, but she still waved good-bye to her friend at the door of the building and headed for her faithful, little, gray car. Satisfied with the events of the day, she absently played them over in her head as she drove along the dark, curvy, back road. Noting the cluster of deer off to the side of the road, she was thankful that this road would soon break into a main highway and the concern of deer would be greatly diminished. Almost as an afterthought, she decided to check her cell phone for any messages. She chuckled to herself as she heard, "You have two new messages" and listened patiently to her older sister's voice on the phone. With the second message holding a note of urgency, she broke her rule of talking on the phone while driving and dialed the number.

Picking up on the other end was a much-too-cheerful teacher for the late hour of 11 PM. Happy at the prospect of having a delay in the morning, the older sister warned the younger sister of the road conditions near her home and asked her to be careful. Dutifully taking on the role of a submissive younger sister, she agreed that she would be careful and with that they said good-bye.

As the younger sister drove along a near-empty turnpike, her thoughts turned toward the goodness of the Lord. A smile spread across her face as she remembered why this day was so special to her. January 25, 1998 was the day she became a Christian and joy filled her heart as she thought it had been 9 years since that sweet Sunday morning when she bowed the knee. She quietly hummed a song as she drove along in the black night, counting the miles and minutes until she could crash on the sofa she called "home" for one night each week.

At the Mid-County exit, she handed over her toll money as well as her testimony tract and was delighted when the man agreed to read the story. Driving away from the toll booth, the words of her older sister echoed in her ears: "the roads don't get bad until you get off the Turnpike". She glanced at the white blanket of snow on either side of the road and thought it was ironic that the city south of her got more snow than her little northern town did.

Admiring the pretty snow, she continued on her way and was surprised to find the 6-lane highway free of any snow or ice. Within 10 minutes, she passed under an exit sign and realized she only had a few more exits to go. Very excited to be able to slip into bed soon, she came to the conclusion that the opera-type music on the radio had to go, conservative Christian music or not!

As she approached a split in the highway, the red and blue lights on the left side of the road caught her attention. Seeing a car in front of the policeman, she assumed the driver had a small mishap. Aware of another car in front of her, she was surprised when they suddenly applied their brakes, so she instinctively pressed her right foot to the brake pedal. This would prove to be a mistake, as the tires found a patch of ice and began to swing the car around the 4 lanes of highway. The driver stared out the windshield in disbelief as the cold, concrete barrier loomed closer and closer. She quickly turned the steering wheel, but felt as if she was on the bumper cars at her favorite amusement park. Only this was not a bumper car and there would be no shouts of laughter after hitting someone. After being tossed and turned on a thin sheet of ice, the car did a 180 degree turn and came to a rest - facing oncoming traffic. She quickly came to her senses as an 18-wheeler barreled in her direction and maneuvered the Corolla off to the right - the left hand lane of the highway.

Dazed at the unexpected tossing and turning, she noted that no traffic was coming and quickly turned the car in the right direction. Her heart seemed to beat twice as fast as she realized how fatal the accident could have been... but for the grace of God.

I do not know why I missed the concrete barriers on either side of the highway. I should have hit one of them but all I can say is it was God protecting me. It happened just as the road turned from 2 to 4 lanes and when there was only one car behind me (who managed to scoot out of the way). I was shaken up, but so thankful I made it to my sister's house. So that's my blessing.... please share yours! God is so good, and He deserves the praise.

[I will be going back to the blogging break, but just so you know, Saturday (today!) is when I plan to finish up my project... Lord willing!]