Miracles and Wonders
You are safe in My hands
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
On the way home from the hospital following Debbie's surgery, I was extremely
nervous and trying to pay special attention to my driving. I was worried about what the
consequences might be if I got us into an accident while her incision was so fresh. The
seat belt and airbag would ordinarily protect her, but that much pressure on her
abdomen could be very serious in her current state.
Traffic on the interstate was heavy for the middle of the afternoon and moving pretty
fast, so I tried to stay in the right hand lane. This left me following a truck pulling a
small mobile home. My gaze fell on the passenger side wheel of the trailer and even
though I couldn't see anything unusual I kept my eye on it for a few seconds. That's
when it came off and started heading for the woods. The trailer started to tip ominously
to the right, sparks began to fly as the axle made contact with the pavement, and shards
of concrete bounced off my windshield. Even though this was unfolding 100 feet in
front of me at over 70 miles per hour, I calmly turned on my signal, checked my
mirrors, changed lanes and passed safely to the left of the truck as it started to slow
down and limp toward the shoulder. I barely even slowed down and I was never afraid.
Debbie didn't even notice until I asked "did you see that?" and the rest of the trip home
was uneventful.
So where's the miracle?
Why wasn't I frightened? This was a potentially extremely dangerous incident. The
trailer could have overturned, the driver could have lost control, road debris or parts of
the trailer could have come through the windshield. Other drivers could have panicked
and run into us trying to avoid an accident. We should have been scared. Maybe Dale
Earnhardt Jr can stay calm when the vehicle in front of him loses a tire at 70 mph, but I
know I can't. I've been driving for over 30 years, and I've seen a lot of strange things
appear in the road or fly off of a car or truck ahead of me (chunks of snow or ice, cans
and bottles, a Styrofoam ice chest, birds, dogs, deer and - I'm not making this up - a
swarm of bees). Every single time, I got that rush of adrenaline that leaves you with a
white knuckled grip on the steering wheel. It has never mattered whether or not the
situation was actually dangerous, only that it appeared dangerous at first glance. That's
because it's a primal fight-or-flight response to stress that happens before your brain
can process the information and evaluate the level of danger. It keeps you alive in an
emergency, but it sometimes scares the stuffing out of you for no good reason.
So, why wasn't I frightened? Simple. God was protecting us, and I knew it. I knew it
on a level that didn't require a thought process to decide that the trailer was not a danger
to us. I knew it instinctively, and at a level that could outrun the adrenaline rush. God
had told me the Debbie was cured, he had sent me a message to remove my doubts,
and now he was reassuring me that nothing could harm us while we were in His hands.
nervous and trying to pay special attention to my driving. I was worried about what the
consequences might be if I got us into an accident while her incision was so fresh. The
seat belt and airbag would ordinarily protect her, but that much pressure on her
abdomen could be very serious in her current state.
Traffic on the interstate was heavy for the middle of the afternoon and moving pretty
fast, so I tried to stay in the right hand lane. This left me following a truck pulling a
small mobile home. My gaze fell on the passenger side wheel of the trailer and even
though I couldn't see anything unusual I kept my eye on it for a few seconds. That's
when it came off and started heading for the woods. The trailer started to tip ominously
to the right, sparks began to fly as the axle made contact with the pavement, and shards
of concrete bounced off my windshield. Even though this was unfolding 100 feet in
front of me at over 70 miles per hour, I calmly turned on my signal, checked my
mirrors, changed lanes and passed safely to the left of the truck as it started to slow
down and limp toward the shoulder. I barely even slowed down and I was never afraid.
Debbie didn't even notice until I asked "did you see that?" and the rest of the trip home
was uneventful.
So where's the miracle?
Why wasn't I frightened? This was a potentially extremely dangerous incident. The
trailer could have overturned, the driver could have lost control, road debris or parts of
the trailer could have come through the windshield. Other drivers could have panicked
and run into us trying to avoid an accident. We should have been scared. Maybe Dale
Earnhardt Jr can stay calm when the vehicle in front of him loses a tire at 70 mph, but I
know I can't. I've been driving for over 30 years, and I've seen a lot of strange things
appear in the road or fly off of a car or truck ahead of me (chunks of snow or ice, cans
and bottles, a Styrofoam ice chest, birds, dogs, deer and - I'm not making this up - a
swarm of bees). Every single time, I got that rush of adrenaline that leaves you with a
white knuckled grip on the steering wheel. It has never mattered whether or not the
situation was actually dangerous, only that it appeared dangerous at first glance. That's
because it's a primal fight-or-flight response to stress that happens before your brain
can process the information and evaluate the level of danger. It keeps you alive in an
emergency, but it sometimes scares the stuffing out of you for no good reason.
So, why wasn't I frightened? Simple. God was protecting us, and I knew it. I knew it
on a level that didn't require a thought process to decide that the trailer was not a danger
to us. I knew it instinctively, and at a level that could outrun the adrenaline rush. God
had told me the Debbie was cured, he had sent me a message to remove my doubts,
and now he was reassuring me that nothing could harm us while we were in His hands.