Friday, July 16, 2004

Angels watching over me!

I had a really terrible day today to put it mildly. Burned my arm on an espresso wand (I am working as a barista in a coffee-bar/cafe') then ruined a drink for the same customer & burned her sandwich, too. I also messed up several drinks that ended up having to be thrown away. It got so bad my co-workers began teasing me, saying, "Don't buy any lottery tickets tonight, Debbie" & "You'd better just go home & thrown the covers over your head & avoid the rest of this day"! I left work but as I was driving home, I realized I'd left something back @ work, so I had to turn around & go back into work. By this time, I was pretty angry & frustrated to put it mildly!

Well, all of this was nothing compared to what happened next. As I was leaving work for the second time, just before the turn-off to the exit for I-57, I heard a loud bang & I suddenly couldn't steer my car! The car was jerked sharply to the right & I was headed right @ a guard-rail, going 50mph. All I could do was try to brake & turn the wheel as hard as I could so I wouldn't go head-on thru the guard-rail onto the interstate below. The car very gradually (it seemed agonizingly slow but faster then I could think, all @ the same time) turned slightly so I ended up scraping along the side of the guard-rail instead of going thru it.

When I got out of the car I found my right front tire was standing perpendicular to the car & the axel or tie-rod (I'm not sure which) was broken. I tried to flag down some cars going by but nobody would stop. I began to get panicky 'coz I don't have a car phone, but finally a nice young guy pulled over. He loaned me his phone to call the police & to call my brother, Jeff, to come help me. We waited for almost an hour and a half altogether before the police came (Jeff came after about 25 minutes).

I just want to say, first of all, how thankful I am no-one was hurt since there could have easily been a car in the lane next to me). I have a few aches & pains (bruising from the suitbelt on my chest & @ my waist & some pain in my shoulders & neck from whiplash) but am essentially physically fine. As we were driving home, tho, I began to get more & more shaky...in shock. All I could think about was how, by God's grace, I & other drivers were protected. I should have been half-way home going 70-75mph on the interstate, yet because of having to go back to work (what a wonderful sense of humor our Lord has), I was only going 50-55mph on an entrance road. I can't imagine what would have happened (well, I can but am trying not to) if this had occurred on the interstate. I was thrown into full blown panic when another driver swerved in front of my brother on the drive home (after the accident) & he had to slam on the brakes. I've spent most of the time since trembling & teary. Please pray for me 'coz I'm due back @ work in the next day or so & am feeling so terrified I'm uncertain if I can drive.

I guess I want to simply say most people would think this has been a day from the hot place. However, I KNOW with my whole heart, God's angelic care was over me & others today. How can I be anything other than intensely grateful? I think this is one clear example as to why we as Christians shouldn't believe in luck, don't you?

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