That Time We Got Hit By a Semi…

Aimee wrote this to share a testimony of God’s work in our life at a women’s luncheon with ladies from our church. The luncheon theme was “Behold Your God.”

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes I will remember His wonders of old.” (Ps. 77:11)

When I was asked to give a testimony of a time God has stepped in to display His active presence, involvement and power in my life, it seemed obvious, based on the timing, that I should share about “that time we got hit by a semi.”

God uses a myriad of ways to show His glory and His kindness to us. It can look very different at any given time. Sometimes He uses His sovereignty in allowing “bad” things to happen to reveal His faithful presence. Sometimes it is the simple reminder of His generous hand of blessing and provision. Sometimes it is a “near miss” or “narrow escape” that causes us to step back and remember how very kind He is. And sometimes – maybe often – it is mix of all three; bitter, salty and sweet mingled together in the flavor of God’s mercy and grace.

We were at the end of our summer of traveling. After driving around 7,000 miles this summer, we were eagerly just one sleep away from our expected arrival back in Grand Junction. We left the home of the friends we were staying with in central Kansas, and as we came out of a little town, on a country highway, we came up on a slowdown in traffic behind a farm truck. Traffic slowed from 65 miles per hour down to about 45, and as he slowed down, my husband Brian glanced into the rearview mirror to see a semi truck barreling down on us. The other driver didn’t seem to slow down at all before he hit us. I didn’t notice anything until the jolt of the impact, which jerked us forward. Brian maintained control and pulled off to the side of the road. He urgently was asking, “Is everyone okay? Is everybody okay?” My first thought was, “of course, that wasn’t that big of an impact, why wouldn’t we be okay?” I had no idea what had happened.

Once we could see that the kids were all okay, he got out to talk with the other driver, and I looked back, thinking he had opened the rear door. Then I realized that the rear window was gone, shattered from the impact. My 4 year old son Caden, sitting in the back row, was confused, asking what had happened. All I could say, at the point of tears, was “God is so kind to us!”

If ever a situation was drenched in God’s kindness, it was here. Not only were our lives and health amazingly spared, but we were able to drive away our little van, leaving the semi driver with his broken, undriveable truck. We were able to drive the remaining 800 miles or so home, and are continuing to drive it.

It wasn’t until several days later, when we were telling family about the crash, Brian pointed out that the semi impact was only about 1.5 feet from Caden’s head. This metaphorically knocked me off my feet, as it progressively dawned on me how very bad it could have been. Often when a semi hits a car it will cause it to roll or spin. If Brian had had any more time to react after seeing the semi in his rearview mirror, would he have instinctively swerved, or otherwise tried to get out of the way, and end up causing us to get hit more destructively? If our van hadn’t been packed full, would it have caved in more, causing more damage or injury?

The “what ifs” can become staggering, if they are weighed in the balance of chance and random actions – if we forget, or don’t believe, that God is truly in control.

Isaiah 46:9-10 says:

⁹     remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ (Isaiah 46:8-10)

If our God knows the end from the beginning, surely He isn’t surprised with what happens in our lives.

God’s active part in this whole experience was acknowledged by our son very eloquently, as he responded to Brian’s comment that God was behind everything. Caden quickly responded, “God isn’t behind things, He’s in front of things!”

Even if we believe God is in control, it’s easy to forget to actively walk in that truth. How very thankful we are that He is indeed in the front of every event!

Romans 8:28 ²⁸ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

My walk with God has been marked with milestones and memorials of God showing Himself to me in very simple, often mundane things. Working as missionaries and actively dependent on God’s provision without a seemingly predictable, unwavering paycheck, has been a huge part of how He has shown Himself to us. He has stepped in multiple times to provide in incredible, unexpected ways. And this experience has reminded me how important, and how exciting it is, to know God is working ALL THE TIME, and to have our eyes open to that.  If we forget, or don’t realize how very actively He is involved, it’s easy to respond the way the world does, as if it were “luck” or “coincidence.” But the God I see displayed in Scripture is a God who works in large, but also small details; a God who cares for the small, seemingly insignificant parts of His creation, as well as the greater.

⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7

In light of that, as I’ve been watching this story unfold, praying over how and what to share today, it has felt very wrapped up in the unresolved conclusion of us finding a replacement van. So as I’ve been thinking and praying over the last few weeks, I have felt like my eyes have been opened to really eagerly watching and anticipating how God would work. I knew He was going to, and I felt uniquely ready to see and give Him the glory for it. We don’t deserve to have still more blessing out of this situation, but I have seen God calling me to trust Him, and to be ready to watch Him bless us even yet more than we deserve. I can see the temptation to downplay the carnal car shopping, as if that doesn’t really matter, but God truly does use this physical world to work our spiritual growth, and I want to be ready to testify to that!

I don’t have time to share the details of our car search last weekend, but we could see at every  turn our own insufficiency, in spite of our best efforts. And in God’s sovereign timing , we ultimately feel like He provided us with a really good used van, and even were blessed with the icing on the cake of being able to drive home together, and have the sales people drive the van over here for us. God has again humbled us by going so far above and beyond what we could even ask or think, and giving us good and kind gifts!

I have heard God’s justice, mercy and grace described this way:

Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we really deserve, and Grace is getting what we absolutely don’t deserve. God’s grace to us has been written all over this experience.

And here is the thing: we know we don’t deserve to be spared from the tragedy this could have been.

It really isn’t fair that we can go through something like this and literally drive away. When I think of all the people who have been called to go through great loss and heartache…it’s humbling and almost seems unfair, that I can share a testimony out of not having to experience great loss. It can be downright uncomfortable to try to wrap our minds around a God who sovereignly allows “bad things” to happen. But that’s all part of who our big God is: a Father who, in His kindness, works in exactly the ways needed to teach His children. And I’ve needed to remember that this isn’t just about me. My family may, at the moment, be experiencing God’s mercy as much for those watching as for ourselves. We’ve tried to be faithful to share with people who comment on the damage to our car, when they say how lucky we are, that it was God who protected us.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. One of the hardest things about being spared so much in this situation is that we know that another time God might allow a more devastating outcome. But we know that we can stand firm in the knowledge of who our God is. I was writing out Psalm 121 recently, and was struck by how many times it uses the word “keep,” “keeper” or “keeps” in reference to God’s care for His people: six times in those eight verses. I am so thankful for His patient reminders that He is truly our Keeper.

God has used this accident to remind us that He is in control. I think He’s also using the fact that we’ve been spared this tragedy to remind us that we can’t take His gifts for granted. That day could have been life-changing in a devastating way. It could have changed our family forever. And because of that, I pray that it IS life-changing. I pray that it does change our family forever. As much as an event like this causes me to want to cling tightly to my precious people, and my life that is not marked by loss, I can’t do that. I pray I can continually take these precious gifts and offer them up to God with open hands. They are His, not mine.

As I’ve been watching this all play out over the last few weeks, I’ve been wondering and praying, what is the theme of this testimony? How can I boil it down? And then as I was finally sitting down to write this out, and pull it all together, I read the context of our theme verses. ²⁴ And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. ²⁵ Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die.

This is of course a different situation, with the Israelites encountering God directly, but I think this speaks to our situation as well. God has allowed my family to experience His power and walk away. He has allowed us to live. We don’t deserve it, and we can’t explain it, but we have been changed because of it. And that is what God does. He uses these experiences where He shows Himself to us, and uses them to change us. And if God is actively involved in our daily life, which I believe He is, I want to get up each day with active anticipation for how He’s going to work. Let me see it. Let me not miss it. Let me not get so caught up in hope that it doesn’t look like tragedy, that I miss what it does look like.

I want to finish with these verses from the hymn, “God Moves In A Mysterious Way” by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

(To see Brian’s Testimony about this experience, click here: www.DiscoverCreation.org/Crash)