Police, Propane and Providence

Friday, September 17, 2011:

Driving north into town to run a few errands, an elderly woman pulled out of a parking lot to my right and, in spite of my best efforts to avoid her, slammed heavily into the passenger side of my van. The impact sent me careening across the southbound lanes of the highway and my van did not come to a stop until I was in a parking lot of a local propane dealer.

As I stood outside of my vehicle, examining damage and trying to stop the shaking, I quickly could see God's fingerprints all over this event.

1. My children were not with me in the car. Had they been, more than likely they would not have been injured, but I know the impact would have been terrifying for them; especially my son who sits in the passenger seat and whose door took the brunt of the force.

2. A policeman was sitting in the parking lot adjacent to the one the woman exited and witnessed the entire event. This was an enormous blessing because a stranger immediately approached him and told him that the accident was my fault. The policeman calmly stated, "I don't know who you are or what you think you saw, but you are wrong."

3. Did you read the sentence above which stated that I sailed across the opposite lanes of the highway? Now, I know Fayetteville is not a large town, but at 4:45 on a Friday afternoon, any area of that stretch of highway is constantly filled with traffic flow. And in that instant that I was hit, there was NO ONE COMING down that stretch of road.

4. Neither the woman who hit me nor I were injured in the accident.

5. And, my good (and hilarious) friend and coworker, pointed out the blessing that came from the place where my van finally stopped. Thank God I did not continue to fly into a propane tank!!

*Can't you just hear the talk? "What was that explosion? OH! That's little old speech teacher Nancy careening into a propane tank on Huntsville Highway!"

God was all over it. He saw it coming (long before the point of impact). He was at the ready. He's not finished with me. And He has a plan.

Many questions now remain and are consistently tossed my way on a daily basis:

Will your van be totaled?

If so, how much money will you get?

Will the insurance company try to railroad you?

What will you do in the meantime?

All good and legitimate questions. But, I knew then and I know still today, God has that all figured out. Already. He had it figured out before the accident occurred. And His will WILL be done. Because God is God and that's enough for me. Really. It is.

The past week has consisted of almost immediate arrangement of a borrowed car until I could get a loaner, laughter over my deep-seeded need to be the center of attention, splitting headache and stiffness, phone calls, unsolicited advice from well-meaning friends, and the momentary breakdown that occured as all of the hullabaloo settled down.

I thank my Great Love for the blessings listed above and for so many others unmentioned. I am certain there are many other blessings of which I am even unaware.

I shared my experience once again last night at work, and my wonderful (and hilarious) co-worker, upon hearing my list of blessings, stated:

"OK, that's it. You ARE indeed the favorite."

:-)