Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Miracles still happen

Let me share an experience I had. I had driven to Utah from Indiana and back. This happened on my return home. I returned over Labor Day. I copied this from an email I sent to a friend.

On Saturday night, I had dinner with the missionary who taught me the Gospel when I was 9. He gave the blessing on the food and during his prayer, I remember thinking that he was being so specific regarding his requests. He prayed for his children by name and activity for that night--being specific about what he was asking. He then prayed for me and my trip home--again being very specific. I felt touched that he was so detailed and concerned.


Then I leave Sunday morning. The first day was fine, no problems whatsoever. I stopped late that night to sleep and got about 4.5 - 5 hrs of sleep. I wanted to get up early to get on the road and be home at a decent hour. Once I got to Kansas City KS, the roads got very busy. We were driving the speed limit, but there were a lot of cars on the road. Once I hit IL, about every 5 miles was a police officer pulling people over. Very busy interstate.

When I was about 2.5 - 3 hrs from home, I was listening to my Ipod, had my passenger seat covered with stuff (food, napkins, etc.), and my phone on the passenger seat. The phone rang and I knew it was either Dad or my friend from UT. I reached for it, but couldn't find it. So, I looked at the seat. When I returned my eyes to the road, I saw grass. I had crossed from the right lane into the left lane and was in the median. I overcorrected and went across the 2 lanes again, slammed on my brakes when I hit the shoulder, and spun 360 degrees, landing in the grass on the shoulder.

I sat there just stunned. I wasn't hurt at all--didn't hit anything...just very badly shaking from fear and adreline. Three people stopped and the first guy that got to me tried to open my door. I had enough sense to unlock it. He kept asking me if I was alright and all I could do was nod. I finally found my voice and said that I wasn't hurt at all, just shaken. The other people that stopped asked him if I was alright. Everyone was stunned that I hadn't flipped the car. The guy that stopped and a couple that stopped (man and woman) were mechanics. Both men looked at the car (under the car, under the hood, outside, etc) and said that there wasn't a scratch on it. Nothing was wrong.

The woman was an EMT and was required to call it in. Since there were so many police on the road, there was an immediate response. The police officer asked for my license and proof of insurance. When he was calling in the license plate, I told him that it was a rental. He then wanted to see the rental papers.

*Side note: My brother wanted me to take a pistol with me for protection while on the road. I do not have a license to carry but never took the gun out except when I was staying in the motel at night. That morning, I stuck the gun in my duffel bag knowing that I wouldn't be using it or anything.*

When the police officer wanted to see the rental papers, I remembered that they were in the same place as the gun. I panicked a little, but I unzipped it enough to put my hand in there to get the papers and he never saw it. He checked out everthing which was fine (I've only had 2 speeding tickets and the last one was about 4-5 yrs ago). By this time I was bawling in reaction, so he told me to drive about 2 miles to the next exit to collect myself. I sat in a parking lot for about 20 min as I cried and kept saying thank you. I called my friend to get sympathy as I knew that I could never tell my dad what had happened (he was the one that called). He would completely lose it and get scared, mad, etc.


For the remainder of the time home, I kept praying for continued guidance and safety, to stay awake and alert, be extremely careful and aware, to ask that the car remain in good operating order and appearance, and saying thank you about every other sentence. I was reminded of the prayer given the night before I left and the specificity of it--and I remembered thinking during that prayer that it was a good example of being specific in prayer. Now I know how good to be specific because he asked for something like that I be alert and skilled to handle any situation.

There is no doubt in my mind that heavenly beings were watching out for me. It is truly a miracle that I didn't hit any cars, posts, or anything. All I got was shaking hands, sweaty armpits, and dry mouth. And deep gratitude for Heavenly Father and those people who helped. I truly believe that there is a reason why 2 mechanics were there to help me. As I have gone over the accident in my mind, I am amazed that nothing serious happened. With all the cars on the road, the least one would expect would to cause a pile up as cars slammed on brakes to avoid hitting me. But nothing like that happened--there wasn't even congested traffic from this--it all ended up on the shoulder. For some reason, I and everyone around me were protected. It's apparent that we are still needed here.

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