I realize I'm not that great at blogging, I just like to write down my enormous thoughts. Today I was driving home from school and the snow had started to thicken to a slushy mixture. I was going about 20mph when on a clear road I would be doing 45-50.When I realized 20mph wasn't slow enough it was too late. I ever so slowly laid on the brake and felt the back of the car begin to swerve a little, which had happened earlier in my commute, so I thought this was normal--until I kept going in a circle to the right. As I recall, all of my thoughts left me and the only thing I was concentrated on is BRAKE. I was hoping the car would point me back homeward, but as I'm continuing to pump the brake I realize I'm about to spin around again. Except this time there's a tree in my way. I continued to pump the brake and move the wheels in the opposite direction and just held my eyes shut. I felt the car stop and opened my eyes. I looked to my left and adjacent to my head about an inch from my window is a branch and a small tree (but big enough to do some damage). I stared before me into the brush for about five seconds as my brain processed what had happened--then I just burst into tears and screamed for two completely paradoxical reasons. One, there are so many other things that could have happened to kill me just now, and I almost just cost my parents hundreds of dollars in car repairs. Not to mention, i had this fear that the airbag would've gone off, or i would've hit the tree, or gone further down the embankment, or flipped over, or ran into another vehicle--and the second reason I was uncontrollably sobbing was because NONE of that happened. And I had this feeling that it SHOULD'VE happened, but I was overcome with this conviction that God stopped the car a millisecond before it was too late. The way I felt the car moving, there was nooo way I was going to avoid that tree. So through my sobbing I just thanked God that none of that happened. After I cried/prayed for about five minutes, I finally was able to control my emotions and calm down enough to call my mom (which can I say I've never felt at such a loss of control, both over the car and my emotions..nothing I did could stop me from hitting the tree OR stop me from crying, but God was with me.)I then saw a fellow MxCC student stop to make sure I was okay, which was so nice of her. Then a tow truck driver came to pull me out. I kept traveling down 68 still wet with tears, going 3 mph all the way to the movies, where I pulled over and had my parents take me home.
I know spin outs occur all too often, but it doesn't make them any less scary. I really understand now how quickly life can be snatched, and also how quick the hand of God is to keep his beloved here just a little longer ;). I think the only residual effect of this day is a positive one--live like there's no tomorrow.
Drive carefully or not at all if it's snowing out people!
