What. a. day.
My Friday started out just like any other… I got up, studied for 2 hours, went to class for 3 hours and then worked on homework for another 2. At 4:15 David picked me up from campus and we drove over to my sister’s house where we all got into her car for a quick trip up to Northern Kentucky for the the evening. Today is David’s mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Janet!) and while David and I had dinner with her and his siblings, Jen was going to see my parents and pick Josh up to bring him back down to Lexington with us.
It seemed like the perfect plan… but none of it turned out as we expected. No more than 2 minutes after getting onto the expressway to go up to NKY a huge red semi came over into our lane, hitting us on the left side of the tiny Honda Civic toward the back. The weight and speed of the semi’s contact caused us to spin around to face oncoming traffic and skid over two lanes until the right side of the car smashed into the cement median.
We are all ok. Only by the grace and protection of God. Needless to say, all three of us were scared and in shock. David stayed calm and called the police and within a few minutes there were 3 firetrucks and 5 police cars surrounding us. A few of the police officers tried to ask us about the details of the semi before driving off to try to find him (since after he hit us, he didn’t bother to pull over). The rest of the EMTs and officers helped us to calm down, checked to see if we were ok and began to write up a report. Everyone told us how lucky we were to walk away from the accident with only headaches and scratches. No doubt, we will be sore tomorrow, but all of us feel nothing but gratitude.
Jen’s car is most likely totaled, and we will find out for sure soon. Her front bumper was close to dragging the ground and the left back door had red paint all over it from where the semi hit. The right side of the back of the car was almost non-existent after the accident and 3 out of 4 of the tires were blown.
As soon as we told me parents about the accident, they picked up and drove down to Lexington. They are so wonderful. They came to our apartment with some pizza in hand and made us all feel safe again. After chatting and watching some basketball, they took us to Orange Leaf, because frozen yogurt makes almost anything better. I am breathing a little deeper now, although every now and then I get flashes back to the split-second experience of spinning in the car or hitting the median, or worse flashes of what could have happened.
But what could have happened didn’t happen. The Lord was watching over us in such a real way in this moment… and I am so grateful. I know it may sound dramatic, but for me tonight was pretty traumatic, and it really just made me happy to be alive. It is so easy to get bogged down in the day to day; the homework, the chores, the responsibilities of life. But after tonight, I am reminded of what a blessing my life is. Although tonight’s experience was difficult and I have a sore back and a bump on my head, it made me really feel God’s presence in and his protection over my life. How amazing…
So today, or tonight, I just want to encourage you to be joyful that you are alive :)
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