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Out of Control |
 I
was exhausted from a necessary trip in my newly obtained used Lincoln, to
Portland to check on the home for sale. I was returning with needed
items when something terrible happened. I had stopped in at mom and dads
at the near half way point to Othello from Portland. I hoped to
sleep on their floor over night there and start off in the morning. They
were not feeling up to having us stay. I talked with my sis and she was
not up to having us stay overnight either.
I stopped at the gas station to fuel up. I counted my money to see if I could stay in a motel. We were really strapped for funds. I knew I had little chance of making it home awake. I had a premonition that something terrible was about to happen. My neck was very stiff and had been for 9 days. No matter what I did it stayed so stiff and painful, I had to turn my whole body in order to turn my head. With very small children in the car, I was at high risk if I stopped in the dark anywhere to nap. I was afraid. I took my concern to God in prayer. I asked each of the children if they loved Jesus and if they would each pray for safety. I checked each seat belt to make sure all were buckled in. |
| I thought of how precious and loving my Heavenly Father was to help us have this Lincoln through the hand of Dad Dave. I still had not paid even one dollar yet for the car. I had promised a man I did not know and he had trusted me to pay for this car even if I had a wreck in it. God understood how difficult it was to have to go back and forth maintaining the home for sale in Portland. He knew how hard it was to make payments there. Yet He had people He wanted me to meet and enjoy yet in Portland so the home had not sold. We also needed it badly in the next three years for winter shelter. While I was driving I was wondering why God had not sold my home yet. But I trusted He had a good reason. |
| Then it happened. I fell asleep just seconds past the
light post on the freeway traveling at least 70 miles per hour. When I
awoke, I felt gravel under the tires. I overcorrected and sent the car
into a spin. Two times I spun around on the dry freeway then went into the
ditch for another whirl. I finally came to rest with the back bumper stuck
in the dirt. I checked the children out. They were very scared! One had
taken his seat belt off and since the window was open, his airborne little
body was headed out the window. Older brother saw and in a flash he
reached up with both arms and pulled little brother tight against himself.
If he had gone out the window, the spinning car would have killed him!
A trucker stopped when he saw my headlights. He sniffed my breath and said to quick turn off my headlights. It would attract a police. I was afraid of him. He said if I told police that I had fallen asleep at the wheel, I could get a ticket. If my lights were off who could help me if he hurt me? Another man stopped to help. He was an off duty sheriff. He also sniffed my breath. He asked what happened and I said I guess I was just a little exhausted from having to move all our things. He wanted to help. He pulled me out and picked up my grill. |
| Then a police on duty arrived with lights flashing. He
was so kind. He sniffed my breath, heard my story and was so nice. He
offered to pay for a motel overnight stay. I told him I was so afraid now
that I would never fall asleep for a couple days! He laughed. He wanted to
follow my car and make sure the wheels did not go flat on me. He cautioned
me to move slow at first to make sure the car was not damaged.
I was worried what I would tell the stranger who had trusted me with a car not yet purchased. Well, he was more concerned about how I felt. He said he knew he could trust me. God had assured him of that, he said. I told him God had honored his prayer over the car that all would be safe who drove or rode in it no matter what happened. A surprise blessing came from the car spin, my neck was whipped about till the stiff neck pain had completely resolved! Does God have a sense of humor? |
Nothing was
wrong with my car. There was a faint reminder in the body of the car but
nothing really giving me trouble.