|
On
Earth...
In
Matt. 6:10, Jesus calls us to pray with words like this: "Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven." "On
earth..." messages are the reflection of various local writers
sharing common experiences in daily living and then guiding
renewal of the mind and spirit from God's Word. It
is scheduled to appear on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Here Am I,
Send Me
Head-On Collision
Send a link to a friend
[December 15, 2007]
The family had completed a long, fun day of
shopping and treasure hunting. Now, at night, we were traveling in
our eight-passenger conversion van from Lincoln to Decatur. My wife
and our three children were singing. The kids were bouncing around
as kids will do. None of us wore seat belts. Also in the van,
between the seats, was a huge wood timber that was intended to be a
yard bench.
|
 In the distance, I noticed another vehicle coming toward
us. Nothing seemed unusual about its approach. As it came close
enough to be illuminated by my headlights, I noticed it was also
a van. The oncoming van suddenly veered into our lane, and the
Two vans hit head-on
The last thing I saw was the driver in the other the van
coming directly at me, slumped over the steering wheel. The
explosive impact was incredible.
The other van careened through a ditch, through a fence, into
a bean field and rolled over several times. A retired policeman,
who was directly behind the other van, jumped out of his car and
pulled the driver out of the van, which was now in flames,
saving the driver's life. Later, tests showed that the young
driver was under the influence of drugs.
When the vans collided, shattered glass shot though our van.
The entire driver's side of our van was totally ripped off by
the collision. The tires on the left side of our van were also
ripped off, and the bare rims dug into the pavement. I
desperately held the steering wheel to keep it from a sudden
turn, which it wanted to do. My wife had been thrown to the
floor under the dash, but she saw my struggle and also grabbed
the steering wheel from the floor.
Our van rolled forward with tires on one side and bare rims
on the other. Our van should have rolled over like the other
van. If we had had rolled over, the large timber would have done
severe damage to everything inside, including my family.
Our demolished van slid to the side of the road onto a flat
grassy ditch and rolled to a stop. There was a short period of
silence as we looked at each other and tried to assimilate what
had just happened. Finally I asked, "Are you all right? Are you
all right?" Slowly, each one, after examining himself, said
incredulously, "Yes, I am OK!!"
A sheriff's deputy arrived, examined the van, heard the
account of what had happened from us and the retired policeman,
and he just shook his head in disbelief. As we were filing the
accident report, he said quietly, "Surely guardian angels were
with you tonight."
[to top of second column]
 |
 The next night as we all gathered at the dinner table, we held
hands as usual to bless the food. As I looked at my family, I
realized how precious they were to me and how fragile our time and
existence can be. We could have all been dead, but God had
miraculously protected us and kept us safe. Emotion and tears just
welled up inside, and as I tried to pray all I could say was, "God…
God… Oh, God!"
Now everybody began to cry, still holding hands and looking at
each other. There was a sudden, collective realization that we were
so blessed to all be together, that nobody had been lost, not even
injured.
Then the words came out… "I love you." Around the table it went,
each one expressing their love. Eventually, when we resumed the
blessing of the food, the prayer quickly transitioned into total
praise and worship to the wonderful God who had protected us.
Psalm 91:1-6 (New Living Translation)
1
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
HALLELUIAH!
[Here Am I, Send Me]
 |
