I am starting a fluid series of reasons I and those around me believe in God and continue to based upon how He works in our lives. These will be a combination of encounters and experiences that regardless of time, place and company have both challenged and deepened my faith, furthering my relationship with and love for God. This series is a go-to for those struggling with faith, needing a reminder of how God might be working in their lives, or someone looking for faith.
Recently, my boyfriend and I attended a drive-in movie about 30 minutes from my house. After the first movie, we realized that his car had died, so someone from the movie jump-started it. I felt something was a bit off after that, so we agreed it would be best to head home because it was already after midnight. He works 12-hour shifts during the week and was still tired, and I had to work in less than 12 hours. We jumped on I-75 South and began heading for home.
We were taking advantage of the long drive home to talk in person, a privilege we don't get all too often. Out of nowhere, the hood of his car flew up. It shattered his windshield, blinded us and thrust the rearview mirror off of its glued stand and into the back seat. We were in the far left, now completely blinded, surrounded by traffic. All of this happened instantaneously, in less than seconds. I remember the car veering to the left, trying to make it to the left shoulder. Then I remember looking out the driver window and seeing the concrete median shifting away as it looked like we were going to crash head-on into the median. Next, we were parked perfectly parallel on the left-hand shoulder.
After we stopped, there was a moment of silence. I looked forward and realized the entire windshield was shattered. I watched as cars sped past us on our right, going just as fast as we had been and even faster.
My boyfriend immediately began freaking out over the car, what repairs it would need and how we would get home. I was still sitting in the passenger seat, silent, in awe of the fact that neither of us had so much as a scratch. The windshield hadn't shattered into the car, just externally. The flying rearview mirror missed us both.
Less than five minutes after all of this, a state trooper pulled up behind us to check on us. He was in disbelief at our calm demeanor. He repeatedly asked us if we were OK and continued to say that it's a miracle that we are alive.
Eventually, we figured things out and were able to drive the car to a safe place where we waited for our parents to come to pick us up.
When I got home, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't seem to shake the abruptness of the night's events. It was one of those moments where life flashed before my eyes, then all of a sudden I was completely safe. I had no other explanation besides God. There was no way my boyfriend could have had the strength and discretion to perfectly park the car on the shoulder in virtually total blindness. There is no other way a state trooper coincidentally pulled up behind us within 2-3 minutes of all of that happening. There is no other way we were able to drive safely off of the highway, through city roads and to a safe place without getting pulled over. Our guardian angels were with us, protecting us. God had His protecting hand over us, more than usual.
Although I was originally upset with God for "ruining" our date night, I am now extremely grateful to Him for keeping us safe and giving us the opportunity to bond over such extreme circumstances.
