Growing up in the mid-west, I was accustomed to driving in some pretty scary
weather at times. I worked second shift and lived about 20 miles away. The
weather was decent when I went to work that afternoon but quickly changed to
what we called "the nasties."
As luck would have it, a bridge was being repaired on the main road to get home
so it was necessary to detour onto some back roads to get there. I set out from
work and began my journey. It was sleeting and very cold. I had my heater on
high. I cranked up the car radio and put in my Keith Lancaster cassette
entitled, "Prime Time." This tape always gives my faith a boost and I sang along
as I slid down the road.
A few miles from town the weather seemed to clear up a bit. I picked up speed
and continued to sing and praise God for all my blessings. I was having a grand
ole time in my one-on-one with God.
I rounded a slight curve where the road was also slightly elevated. I hit a
patch of ice and started to fish-tail. "No big deal," I thought. I let off the
gas and kept right on singing. I had fish-tailed before and had always managed
to regain control.
Well, there is an exception to every rule. I was belting out "Go Tell John" with
Keith and couldn't help but notice that the three foot high concrete wall of an
old bridge was getting closer and closer to my car! I felt about a half second
of fear and then yelled, "God, please don't let me hit that bridge!" Just then
the passenger side tires left the road and the car flipped up onto that side. I
had been so close to that concrete wall that I couldn't see any space at all
between it and the front end of the car.
The car slid down into the creek on its' side and then flipped back down onto
all four tires. I put the car in park, shut off the headlights, ejected the
Keith Lancaster tape and put it in my coat pocket and shut off the engine. I
climbed out of the car and up out of the ditch and walked to the nearest house
to call for help.
It wasn't until the tow truck and sheriff arrived with their flood lights that I
saw that not only had my car missed the concrete bridge on the driver's side, it
had also barely missed a big oak tree on the creek bank of the passenger side.
It looked as though someone had deliberately set my car between the bridge wall
and the oak tree. My car was totalled but I only received a few minor scratches.
As the sheriff and I stood there watching the tow truck driver, he said,
"Do you realize what a lucky girl you are? You could've hit the bridge OR the
tree -- or if the water had been high enough, you could've drowned!"
My hand was wrapped around the Keith Lancaster tape in my coat pocket. I looked
back at the sheriff and said, "Yes, I realize how fortunate I am; I have my own
guardian angel."
T. Davis Copyright 1999 ludwig63@yahoo.com
A bit about Terri:
I am very happily married and the mother of a five year old "special needs"
child. As a family we enjoy camping and fishing. I have worked at the same job
for 21 years now on an assembly line. I enjoy a close, personal relationship
with God and encourage all others to do the same. The latest hobby to capture my
attention has been piecing quilts.
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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