Exhortation Station

Three days ago, I had quite a wild ride. Looking back on it, I am still amazed at the Father’s immense grace and protection. I’d like to share what happened and offer some words of admonition and encouragement which came to my mind after pondering the event.

Sunday morning, around 9 a.m., I left our family’s lake house (the place where I’m staying this semester while at college) to fellowship with some college buddies and pick up some groceries. It was a nice day. Though the roads were slightly wet from the rain the night before, there were no puddles on the road.

After coming out of a sharp curve about 5 minutes from the lake house, I felt a jerk. Apparently I had let my front-right tire get off the road (there was no shoulder). I didn’t know what was going on. I tried to steer back onto the road. I might have over-corrected. Whatever I did, it didn’t work. Within a couple seconds, my truck was heading down a steep embankment off the right side of the road, and I knew there was no turning back. My truck rolled over sideways and came to rest right-side-up (thankfully). I couldn’t open the driver’s-side door, but the window on that side was bashed out, so I climbed through it.

I walked up to the side of the road and immediately called 9-1-1. They sent an ambulance my way, and in the meantime I called my family and let them know what had happened. I had blood all over my neck and arm and wasn’t totally sure where it was coming from. It seemed the blood was coming from my head, so I applied pressure there. I kept my parents on the line while waiting for the ambulance, and Mom posted an urgent prayer request on Facebook. Dad, Mom, and my brother Chris, who were at home 2.5 hours away, packed up and headed my direction.

After 15-30 minutes, the firetruck and ambulance arrived, and the medics checked me out. Fortunately, all the blood was coming from a minor gash at the back of my head (apparently head cuts are notorious for bleeding a lot even when relatively minor). They didn’t think I had any broken ribs. They walked me to the ambulance, and within a few minutes I was heading to the ER. The fact that I was able to walk was a good sign.

At the ER, I had CT scans done on my head, chest, and spine/neck. They put a few staples in my head to stitch up the small gash. For a couple hours I sat in the ER bed awaiting results. Meanwhile, friends were praying for me and calling/texting to check on me. At one point, the state trooper who had been at the site visited me to go over some paperwork related to the accident. He told me that, when my truck rolled, my upper body had probably shifted over into the passenger’s side. This may have saved my life, he said, as the roof on the driver’s side was crushed in about 10 inches. Wow. Praise the Father for His protection!

The head and chest scans came back normal. The spine/neck scan showed I have a small C7 spinous process fracture. Fortunately, this is a minor fracture, as it does not go through the main spinal column but rather is only in the back projection of the C7 vertebra (my medical terminology may not be perfect here). In other words, there is no risk of nerve damage. I’ll need to take it easy for a while, and there’s a chance I could have arthritis in that area down the road, but other than that there do not appear to be long-term consequences. Praise Yahweh!!

Mom picked me up from the ER that same day around 5 p.m. Dad and Chris went to retrieve the things I had left in my truck (which had been towed to a garage), and we all met back at the lake house. I am extremely grateful for all the prayers, love, and care my brothers and sisters in Messiah have poured out on me through this whole thing. My neck will be sore for a little while, but the pain is tolerable and is reducing. Fortunately, the COVID-19 situation has made it easy for me to study mostly online for the time being.

I am soberly grateful as I think of all the things that could have turned out differently. Had I been knocked out, it may have been a long time before anyone would have found me since my truck was somewhat hidden from the road. Had I had difficulty finding my phone, I could not have reached help nearly as quickly. Had I carried loose tools in the cab of my truck (which I have in the past), I could have been struck with a hammer or something. I could have hit a tree on the way down, but I didn’t. There could have been passengers with me, but there weren’t. I could have lost the possessions in my vehicle, but I didn’t. Even my planner booklet, which had flown out the window, my brother found when he and dad went back to check out the accident site. Yahweh was so gracious to me, even with the little things.

As I’ve reflected on this incident, two Bible passages have come to my mind. Before I share them, however, I’d like to say a quick word about driving.

I generally consider myself to be a safe driver. Though I admit my memory of the event may not be perfect, I do not think I was driving recklessly. I think what happened is that my mind was slightly distracted just at the moment I was straightening up after the curve in the road. Because my mind wasn’t fully engaged, I didn’t straighten my wheels completely. One tire went off the road, and everything went downhill from there. I share this not to scare you, but to drive home the importance of not taking safety for granted. In the future, I intend to be particularly cautious on curvy roads, busy city roads, and other accident-prone areas. I particularly want to alert young drivers out there (such as myself) to take this to heart, even if you are generally very safe on the road.

Now for the Scripture passages. The first passage that stood out to me was this one from James:

James 4:13-15 — “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ ¹⁴ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'”

This admonition from James is so relevant to what happened three days ago. On the morning of the accident, I had a nice plan laid out for the day. Within about 5 seconds, that plan changed. By Yahweh’s grace, He allowed me to live and even to continue my college studies. I soberly acknowledge, however, that things could have been much, much different. I could have been killed or paralyzed. Brothers and sisters, please remember that you, just like me, are a vapor. Yes, we should make plans, but we should hold those plans with a light grasp, knowing that everything could change in an instant.

The second passage that came to mind is Psalm 139. I encourage you to read the whole chapter sometime.

Psalm 139:5-12 — “You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. ⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, ¹⁰ even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. ¹¹ If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ ¹² Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”

Looking back, I recognize that Yahweh was with me through the entire incident. Even when I was tumbling down the hill, He was holding me in the palm of His hand.

I hope this testimony will not serve to scare my readers, but rather to invoke a deep sense of gratitude and reverence to the Father. I also hope you will be sobered as you recognize the transient nature of life. We have no better time than now to examine ourselves and, with His strength and help, to cleanse our robes for Yahshua’s return. We have no better time than now to give our hearts completely to Him, confident that He will enclose us behind and before in all circumstances.

Shalom!

(Bible passages NASB.)