September 10, 2012 started like most any day at our
house. I got up and got Ellis,
Ella Beth, and myself ready for the day.
This specific day would have us preparing for Ella Beth’s four-month
check up. My mother, also known as
G, was keeping Ellis for me while I took EB to the doctor. Little did we know, we would not make
that appointment for almost two more weeks…
Ella Beth and I started on our way toward Dothan, like we do
several days every week. We were
traveling south on Hwy 231 and a truck did not stop at a stop sign that
intersects the highway. I saw the
truck moving very quickly toward me and I felt impact almost instantly. My
airbag deployed and all I knew was that I had been hit on the other side of my
vehicle. The side closer to where EB was sitting. It only took a moment for my vehicle to stop moving and the
airbag to come down from my face. I immediately turned around and there sat my
baby girl in the car seat as perfectly positioned as it was when we left
home. All I could do was say, “thank
you, thank you, thank you” in a constant prayer of thanksgiving. I got out of my vehicle and had two men
running toward me. They were the
men in the other vehicle involved and were not injured. Praise the Lord! In the next moments, I was overwhelmed
by the kindness shown to me by witnesses, police officers, and complete
strangers that stopped what they were doing to direct traffic around EB and
me. Troy was working in Panama
City this particular morning and had to accept this phone call from two hours
away. He guided me in how to
handle the situation and stayed calm and confident for me. My sweet mother got Ellis in the car
and started on her way to pick us up.
Troy got home as quickly as he could and we got back to our normal
routine. I say “normal” routine,
but the days to come left me in an overwhelming emotional mess. In the past few years, I have wept with
family and friends facing unbelievably hard situations reminding me that we do
indeed live in a fallen world. I
put Ella Beth to bed that night and cried and cried. I would have flashbacks of the airbag coming out of my face
and seeing EB completely unharmed.
I was so grateful to a mighty and merciful God. He had “rescued” us.
A couple of weeks later, I was worshipping my merciful God,
so thankful that he did not choose to take my baby home that day. Then, God gently nudged me… “that is
not what I chose for my own son.”
That thought continues to overwhelm my soul.
You see, if God would have chosen to take Ella Beth or me
home that day, we had already been rescued. God did orchestrate all the events of September 10th
and blessed us in every second of it, but he rescued us, all of us who believe,
when he chose to sacrifice his own son as a payment for our sin. Jesus rescued me, long before I was
ever in an accident! Our salvation
is a gift, given by His mercy. It is easy for us, or for me at least, to forget
how much it cost. It cost a lot. It cost the life of His son. I was reminded of the cost of my own
salvation, in an automobile accident, an accident that occurred on E King
St.
“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And
rescues them.” Psalm 34:7
Our King is Worthy of All Praise,
Brittany
