Close Call

Just the other day I was heading home from work, minding my own business watching the road ahead of me.  Then, suddenly, I realized that one of the oncoming vehicles was driving rather oddly.  At first I didn't think anything of it.  But as the seconds ticked by the car began to veer off proper trajectory and into my lane.

Having been through three accidents, none of which were my fault, and still suffering from physical injuries I was instantly on edge.  Should I honk? Should I hit the breaks and hope no one behind me was too close?  Should I veer to the right and try to avoid a collision?  Should I speed up and hope to beat the vehicle's path?

All in just a few seconds I had deduced that honking would be futile, stopping would be stupid since the vehicles behind me were too close, and speeding up would just make a collision more painful. So I opted to veer right.

Let me tell you that my heart was in my throat and the adrenalin in my body was so strong that my legs were burning.  I cannot remember the last time I was so frightened.  I could see that the driver's head was up but didn't seem to see what was directly in front of him.  And then, at the last possible second, the driver noticed he was on a collision course with me and veered back into his lane.

As we passed each other I noticed two things:  he had just tossed a small, shiny device onto the passenger seat and the driver's behind me had slowed down to give me more room.  Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking there was going to be a bad stop.

And that's when it hit me.  The small shiny device was a cell phone.  The driver hadn't been talking or holding anything up to his ear but he wasn't looking up either.  He was texting.

 

I have seen this so many times before and, more recently, people texting with the cell phone below the car windows.  

In my state it is now illegal to be doing that in the car.  You must have blue tooth or some wireless, hands-off way of communicating.  Or course the poor cops have a lot on their plate so they don't make too many arrests for this.

It took me several minutes to calm down.  God had just saved me from something truly terrible.  It would have been an awful head-on collision even with me veering away.  There was just no time to act.  You can bet I was praising God and thanking Him for His mercy.

But that's how life is, isn't it? We can be minding our own business and somewhere someone else will do something wrong: hijack a plane, shoot a movie theater audience, drink and drive, etc.  We never know what tomorrow might bring.  Today may be all we have.  

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:26 that we should never go to bed angry.  Some days its easier to obey this wisdom than others.  But its certainly healthier to let anger go and give it to God for safe keeping at any time of any day.  And the more we practice doing it the easier it becomes.  Not perfectly easy  but it will be easier to react in your heart in a way that is healthy and pleasing to God.  

At least this is the lesson He seems to be teaching me.  I never talk on my cell phone or text while driving because I know from experience how even one second of distraction can be disastrous.  I don't ever want that on my conscience.  I can only hope the oncoming driver will be more careful from now on.

So as we go into a new week please be careful and be safe on the roads!  God definitely looks out for His children.  God bless!