The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. On the other hand, God says:
“For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.” -Psalm 91:9-11
When my mom died, God showed me how my mom had spent her life fully aware of the fact that every day she lived was a gift from God. But I’m afraid that, over time, I’ve kind of forgotten that lesson. Hence this story…
My youngest is fighting a flu virus of some sort. Yesterday my oldest had a science fair, and the youngest wasn’t doing too badly, so we went. Well…the longer we were out, the worse she felt, so I was in a hurry to get her back home. I had to stop and get a few things at the store, though.
So yesterday, after I’d come out of the store and unloaded my groceries into the car, I turned to put the cart in the corral across the parking lot. The weather was warm (comparatively) and the wind was kicking up, which always makes me feel frisky (for want of a better word). So the combination had me set off at a full run across the parking lot. Now I may be 32, but I can still run at a pretty good speed. And just as I stupidly ran into the lane in front of the store without looking, a car came flying and we collided. Yes, I collided with a car…hard enough that the cart broke the car’s front headlight and dented the quarterpanel.
Immediately, images of our $500 deductible danced through my mind as the young guy driving stopped and I looked in horror at what I’d done.
He rolled down his window. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, “But…your car! I can’t believe I did that!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it? But you have a nice car!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“But…I broke your light and dented your car!”
“Something’s broken?”
I nodded.
He got out and came around to look and again. “It’s not a big deal; don’t worry about it. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
I started repeating over and over again, “God bless you,” even as I asked again if he was sure.
Finally, he drove away. I wondered if it wasn’t even his car, and that’s why he didn’t care. I wondered at how he seemed slightly amused at my repeated blessings. It occurred to me that I may have been the one to hit him, but I was a pedestrian and he was tearing through a parking lot, so perhaps that’s why he wasn’t too eager to report it. I also thought about the many times when someone has owed us something and my husband says, “Don’t worry about it.” Was I reaping a seed he’d planted?
I got the cart put in the corral and returned to my car feeling both grateful for God’s grace and mercy and guilty for forgetting the look-both-ways rule I’d known since kindergarten.
But then something else occurred to me. If I had been one second ahead of myself, I wouldn’t have hit the front corner of his car. He would have hit me.
And I’d probably be dead.
Do you take God’s daily protection over you for granted, too? Like I realize I have been?
It sounds like he was thrilled he didn’t kill a person that day. It would be great if one day the Lord actually showed us all the danger he kept us from. I think that would be fun and scary to watch!
Hi, Katie…thanks for dropping by my blog. It strikes me that your picture for your header is a butterfly, and your blog title Hope is Calling — that really speaks to my heart. I have written a number o blog posts on hope, for I am primarily a woman of hope. There are three images I really like, clouds, rainbows, and butterflies. I’m very glad to “meet” you.
I read your post, and I was in awe. First of all, I am sure that the driver must have realized what you also realized… he could have hit you. He could have hit a pedestrian and that is why he was in a hurry to get away. When we get to heaven we will find out how many times God has dispatched an angel (or angels) to shield us from harm.
About the ten virgins post you wrote, you may want to visit a post I also did on the same theme:
http://mla-crownofglory.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-first-love.html
I’ll surely be back to read more of your blog. Blessings on your day.
I think you’re talking about what I meant. It’s perfectly okay to not know how many things God protects us from each day. We could never know it all. But it’s not okay to lose our awareness that we are, indeed, living under His divine protection.
What a story.
Well, that’s an interesting phrase, ‘take it for granted.’ It carries the connotation of both ignorance and unappreciation. I think that the phrase is slightly misleading, in that … especially in a question of this sort … I think God would rather us not be aware of the dangers we could be in, were he not protecting us. However … appreciation and gratitude are absolutely essential, whether we are cognizant of the dangers or not. In fact, perhaps it is moments like this which serve only to inspire us to be more grateful and more thankful – and perhaps that is their sole purpose. I don’t know if I’m writing well what I’m trying to say. It feels unclear. Well, let’s say that we were to live every day of our lives in blissful ignorance of every bad that could be happening … yet constant appreciation for His covering and help. Is that ‘taking it for granted’? I think it doesn’t really fit inside the connotation of the phrase. Yet I believe this is (in many respects) what He is looking for. He carries the burden of knowing the bad things and guarding against them; we live in safety and constantly appreciate what he does. (sounds like a husband, huh?) 🙂
Anyway. I’m not disagreeing with you at all – I feel like it came out choppy. Praise God for the graciousness of the driver, and the protection of the Lord.
Speaking of protection, though. There was a short video on the news last night … maybe I can find it … of a guy who was hit by a truck that was hit by a train. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf9bg8NjzuA Ben and I were watching it, amazed, and I said, “That has to be the protection of God. Nothing else could do that.” His protection is powerful and timely, indeed.