You can ask any one of my friends or family and they will tell you that I am not a religious person. I struggle going to church when I’m supposed to and I rarely read my scriptures. But there come times in my life where there is no denying that He is there and that He is watching over me.

My best friend and I like to go on long drives through back roads whenever we are stressed or sad. We play loud music and sing and dance and it just always helps to clear our heads. Normally the long, winding country Idaho roads are perfect for this sort of thing. We are able to drive without worry of other traffic or stop signs, it's just us and the road. Normally.

This time started off like any other one of our drives. I was having a rough day so my friend and I stopped at Soda Vine, the local soda dive, and got our regular drinks then hit the road. We drove up the hill towards the forest and then decided on a detour through some of the farmland up on the mountain. The sun was out and we were laughing and singing like always. We hardly noticed when the pavement switched to loose gravel. Soon enough, the wind started to pick up and caused my car to drift. At first I was able to regain control, but then the wind started pushing harder and harder. Soon we were zig-zagging across the road and eventually the back wheels of my car hit the edge of the road and we flipped. Twice.

I can remember every detail as we crashed. I remember the song playing, and seeing the ice and soda from our drinks splash across my dashboard. Mostly I remember being scared to look over at my friend, so instead I focused on the windshield smashing in. We seemed to have stopped upside down, and I don’t know if it was the wind or maybe delayed momentum but somehow my car flipped one more time right side up.

The police said we should be in critical care or worse, and that it was a miracle that we were both able to walk away from the scene. At the time, I remember thinking my life was over. I remember sitting in my car and hating myself for being so stupid. But now that I’ve had time to recover I realize that no matter how horrible this situation was, it happened for a reason.

I’ve never considered myself to have very many friends, but the amount of love and support that people have shown me after the accident overwhelmed me. I had a rough semester, with things just not seeming to go my way. But it wasn’t until I hit my lowest, that I really understood how blessed I am in my life. God has given me so much, and I am so thankful for everything that He has given me. God doesn’t always give you what you ask for, or what you want, but he always gives you what you need. He has a plan for us, and sometimes it takes flipping your car off the side of the road to get you back on the right path.