4GVN

I haven’t posted in over a week yet and I think I know why. Some life stuff got thrown my way and now we are dealing with it as best we can. I had a car accident. It was an incredibly scary moment. For myself, but even more for my baby and hoping that all is ok with him. I am 8 1/2 months pregnant so this couldn’t have happened at a worse time. In the midst of such joy, we are now having to scramble and get a new vehicle and worry about the babies health. We don’t know why we get these things thrown at us. But the best approach is to see the positive in it. The baby is fine. I am fine. No broken bones. Just broken cars. Mine was totaled which wasn’t a great thing financially but none the less it happened and we have the means to deal with it.

I keep playing the moment back in my head when I went off the road. It was a mountain cold morning. Some light snow was falling. School had been canceled again because of icy roads. The road I was driving looked just fine. And that’s when I took a hairpin turn and went straight instead of turning. I had that feeling of being absolutely out of control. By instinct I pressed the breaks but realized this wasn’t going to end well. I have had a thousand dreams where I am driving and then lose control only to wake up and realize it was just a dream. This time, it wasn’t a dream. When I “woke up” I was 15 feet down in ravine with the car laying flat on the driver’s side and I was staring directly at a creek. It took me a little bit of time to get it together. To realize where I was. To grasp the enormity of what just happened. Then I self-evaluated everything and thought, “Ok, I have got to get out of here.” But how? At first I was panic-stricken because the passenger side door was too heavy for me lift in my condition. I stood there for a moment (on the driver’s side door) with the passenger side door resting on my head and my arms taking a rest. I listened to the quiet. Snow was falling. Absolute silence. No cars coming. And if they did, they wouldn’t have seen me there. I took a moment, shut my eyes and prayed “lord, what do I do?” I shut the door back and took some deep breaths. I picked up my phone and called my husband. He was the only voice I wanted to hear on the other end of the line. He would know what to do. I called every number and he didn’t pick up. I knew he had just taken my daughter to daycare and was probably in the building. I dialed again and prayed, “Lord, please let him pick up.” On the fifth ring I heard his voice. Relief rushed over me. I sobbed and somehow managed to get out the words, “I ran the car off the road and I am in a ditch” (thinking back on this now I am so glad I didn’t let him now how bad it really was) and then tried to remember what road I was on. It wouldn’t come to me. I drive this road everyday and just kept saying “you know, the MAIN road.” Finally, it came to me. He knew where I was, he knew what to do. He said, “I am coming. I will call 911. Just stay calm. I love you.” As I stood vertically in the horizontal vehicle I prayed for the baby again and then started to make my way out of the car. I realized there was only one way out: the passenger side window. Thank God the window came down. Thank God this vehicle protected me and the baby. Thank goodness the window was big enough for me to climb through (I am not a size 8 right now). I climbed out onto the car clutching my purse and jumped off into the creek. I didn’t wear enough clothing. It was one of those days that a fleece pullover wasn’t enough. I should have brought my big coat. I made my way out of the creek and into the cold so I could be seen. I listened to the quiet. I closed my eyes and prayed for help to come soon. Then my baby boy kicked and I cried again. He was ok. From inside the womb he was letting me know he was ok. Relief again. Over and over the Lord kept showing up with His mighty protection. I hear a car creeping down the road and see the Blowing Rock Police Department car pull up. It was a young guy that got out of the car. He yelled down and asked if I was ok. I cried….again (Am I overly emotional because of the pregnancy? Maybe. However I do have tendency to cry or have a lip quiver when I am talking to someone about something sensitive in subject). The nice young man let me sit in his warm car until my husband arrived. I watched as emergency crews pulled up on the scene and put their flashing red lights. Some of them stare into the police car to see who (what kind of woman) did this. I look away embarrassed by the whole scene. I see them making a plan to get the car out and talking on their walkie talkies. I look down at my poor car laying on its side and in the creek. I loved this car. My husband had gotten a special license tag on the car that at first I detested. 4GVN. I wasn’t excited about it because I thought “well, now I can’t cut anybody off when I’m driving!!” Its like the Christian fish being on your car. It labels you and you better be aware of it because you are identifying yourself to people. They will expect a lot out of you. So there, in the creek, was the “4GVN” trooper. I could just hear people’s thoughts as they saw the car “yeah, you better hope your husband forgives you.” I thought about that a lot. Would he be upset with me? His response was exactly what I thought it would be. He was concerned for me. For the babies safety. He was glad I was ok. He was awesome. Not once did he get upset with me. I knew the financial strain this would bring with a baby on the way and he didn’t waver once in his reaction. Calm, concerned, controlled. I needed him that day. I needed to have his calmness surround me that day. It was a blessing. It confirmed to me that we were meant to be together. That I needed his clarity of thought and control when it seems like the world turns upside down and lands you in a creek. I am just so thankful for him.

I am sad to see the old Trooper go. It was a great car. It had some issues but was (normally) great in the dicey weather up here. I am thankful that it was the car I was in when the accident happened. It was big and sturdy. It did a great job in protecting us. I don’t know what would have happened in another car but this is how it was meant to play out. It’s hard to believe in moments like these that God is orchestrating some great plan with this car accident. It feels like we are going through a season of car failures all the time. But there is a plan and I have to faith in it. My new car is an older mini van. It was on my “I will never have one of those” plan. But now I am just glad to have it. I secretly like it. But don’t tell my husband. He will think he won the battle.