My Car Wreck (Thank God I'm Alive)

I go about twittering a lot, so I do not blog as often as I used to. Some things, however, cannot be said in 140-character bites.

Last Friday (I realized later, the 13th) I left church very late after fixing an email problem. Cathy had lost her phone on the 10th and I gave her mine, so I missed all manner of phone calls and emails, including the "OUR EMAIL IS DOWN!" messages throughout the day. So, I got to the church very late after a day at Disneyland.

I got the messages when Cathy joined us at 6PM after her temporary job. I got to church about 10:30 PM. It took me a while to figure out what was wrong with Exchange and how to address it. I left after midnight and drove toward home. I noted that the ground appeared wet and thought it was weird as I didn't know it had rained. (Later, several people told me it had, perhaps while I was indoors?)

About 1 AM I was going from one freeway to another when I took my foot off the accelerator, but didn't slow down; I had turned on cruise control out of habit. When I hit the brakes, instead of stopping I just slid.

The rest went quickly -- I remember thinking that "Oh God I am going to crash," saw the wall at an angle I had not seen before, struck the wall and felt everything jerk upwards, saw Cathy's face in my mind, then suddenly was in the middle of the lanes swinging wildly from side to side, thinking "I'm going to lose it, I'm going to flip the car," then suddenly and unexpectedly was driving straight in the slow lane, and I pulled off next to an emergency phone and stopped the car.

I turned on my hazard blinkers, and a few seconds later a car flew by me, followed 10 seconds later by a tractor trailer truck. I sat and marveled that I seemed uninjured, and that I had not spun out. The railing had ended right where I parked.

I got out, glanced at the damage, and called my cousin. Fortunately, I had gotten my phone back from Cathy before heading to church. I drove the car (squeaking a great deal) off the freeway and stopped at a gas station.

When I asked a man getting gas for directions to the nearest mechanic, he said he didn't know of a garage nearby, but that he was a mechanic. He looked at the car, had me drive around the parking lot in a few circles while he examined it, and after bending a few panesl and some more driving he told me I could drive 30 MPH home on surface streets.

I drove slowly home and parked the car. Cathy was very glad to see me when I arrived.

Over the next few days, I had several mechanics look at the car, neighbors and acquaintences mostly. Essentially, the engine is fine but the frame is bent. The airbag did not deploy as it was not a frontal impact. I will likely sell the car as something to salvage for parts.

So, to recap, I hit a wall with my car, did not spin out, did not involve another car, was not struck by passing traffic, was not injured, had my phone even though I hadn't had it for two days straight, and was able to drive home.

It may sound corny, but I really think that I could have died a week ago. I think God protected me from getting hurt and kept me from hurting others. When I was convinced I was going to lose it, He straightened the car. I think God preserved my life, and it wasn't because of skill on part.

I am thankful to be alive.