A Moment of Pure Grace

Most people will go through life without ever experiencing a moment of pure terror -- a moment when time seems to slow down as you are hurtling toward what you believe to be a certain death and knowing that there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it. I have lived through such a moment and am blessed to be alive to tell the story.

Last year I could have died while driving to my mother's house. As I was speeding south on Interstate 59, I swerved to miss some debris that was in the middle of the highway, and I lost control of the car that I was driving. Much to my horror, the car crossed four lanes of traffic and then entered a wide grass meridian, only to go airborne and come down on the opposite side of the interstate skidding directly toward the oncoming traffic.

One of the front tires had blown out, the brakes had locked and I had recognized that the sheer force of my will was not enough to stop the car. And, in that terrible moment, all I could do was scream, "Oh, God, please!" And God heard me. The car continued to skid until it crossed all four lanes of traffic and came to rest on the shoulder of the highway, just inches away from the speeding traffic.

It took me a couple of minutes to catch my breath and to grasp the reality that I was not only still alive but was also sitting there without even a scratch on me. By the time I was able to get out of the car, a tractor-trailer driver had stopped to help me. I will always remember his smile as he approached me and when he placed his hands on my shoulders and said, "You can take a deep breath now. It's over, and God has taken care of you."

Simply put and honestly stated, that man was right. God had indeed taken care of me and had turned a moment of pure terror into a moment of pure grace.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!