God Is Our Protector

This is Thanksgiving week and I have much to be thankful for. Notwithstanding, Hillary Clinton was denied the office of President of the United States. That alone is worth celebrating. But something else happened on election day that I’m celebrating.

At 10:15am on election day I drove home from Irvine Valley College after I had picked up my daughter from class. It was like the many, many other days I had picked her up. We headed home, as she recounted her day so far. We have a four way stop outside our condo complex, so like I’ve done a thousand times I stopped in the left hand turn. Nobody was at the intersection, it was just me all by my lonesome. I turned into the intersection, when suddenly my daughter screamed, “They’re not stopping mom!” Bam! A gun shot went off. At least that’s what it sounded like. Someone had come out of nowhere and t boned our car.

I turned to my daughter, because that was the side we were hit on. Her eyes were as big as saucers, terror in them. She sobbed and a sense of panic surged in me. Was she okay? I asked her if she was. I reached in back of her back and ran my hands down it. Are you okay? Are you sure you’re okay? She bent her head on my shoulder and I rubbed her back to console her.

Suddenly, I remembered the driver who just hit us. A fear struck me that they would take off. I got out of the car. I told my daughter to come out on my side as she couldn’t open the door on her side. I was shaking. My daughter was sobbing. But I was able to get out of the car and move around to the other driver. She sat there in her car. I had to tell her to roll her window down. I yelled at her, “What is wrong with you? You didn’t even stop!” I told her to call the police, but she just sat there looking confused.

I went back to my car to find my cell phone to call the police. I found it. Meanwhile, paramedics had stopped and were asking us if we were okay. I said we seemed to be. My daughter had a cut on her fingers. I had a cut on my knee. My glasses had flown off my face, but we were alive. We were walking around the car and we were alive!

After the police took a report. After the tow truck towed away our car. My daughter and I walked down the street, into our neighborhood and home. We walked home! Our car had just been smashed on the passenger side by a driver going at least sixty miles an hour and we walked away!

God protected us. The car crash could have ended very differently. But it didn’t. My daughter has a sore shoulder and I have a bad case of whiplash. But we’re alive!

At first, I began to panic about what would be the outcome of all of this. Would we be able to replace the car or get it fixed? What about a car in the meantime? I kept praying for peace so I wouldn’t panic. I know what stress can do to our bodies. So, in the quiet still voice that is the Holy Spirit, I heard Him telling me He loved me. I was His child. He never left us alone in that car. He was there with us, protecting us. He wouldn’t leave us now. He still loves us. He still has our best interests in mind. And that has made all the difference. When I changed my focus from the ruined car to God’s love for me, the panic drained from me. The fear went away. I was whole, inside and out. Praise God!

And that is one of the big lessons I learned through all this. If we are feeling panic about our circumstances, change your focus. Don’t dwell on the situation. Dwell on God’s love for you. It will make all the difference in the world!