September 24, 2009

• Drive

  I was going to blog about the tooth fairy today.  I think it would be a very funny and entertaining blog.  But I’m going to save that till tomorrow.  Instead, I will tell you about my drive home from school.

  Every Thursday, I teach a pre-school class across town.  I have a little guy that car pools with me which allows me to drive in the HOV lane and for his mom to get to work on time.  Everybody wins.   After school, I drive him to the school where his mom is a teacher and she picks him up there.  It works pretty well. 

  Today, I left pre-school and was heading back to my side of town with the little guy in the backseat.  We were on the highway driving.  The section of road we were on was a three lane road in both directions.  Possibly four if you count the entrance ramp.  I was in the center lane, driving along about 60 miles an hour.  The soundtrack to Tarzan was playing (little guy picked it out) and the sun was shining.  I needed to get in the left lane fairly soon because I was coming up on the exit ramp from the highway to the HOV lane and it is a left exit.  I was watching my rear view mirror and the side mirror.  The traffic was heavier than usual and it was pretty much bumper to bumper in all three lanes.   I saw an opening in the left lane, but I didn’t take it.  I watched the opening, seeing that there was PLENTY of time and room for me to get over.  But I didn’t go.  Eventually, the car at the back of the opening was right next to me, and the open spot was right in front of him. 

  Then, for reasons I don’t know, the car just in front of the car in front of me (so one car between me and this other one) lost control.  She went wildly into the open spot in the left lane, veered off into the shoulder, turned back across the left lane, in front of the car in front of me, spun around and was now FACING the cars coming towards her, crossed over into the right lane and squealed to a stop.   It happened in a few seconds.  I only had time to get my foot off the gas pedal when I saw all of this happening.  God was obviously protecting everyone!  That out of control SUV did not hit a single car, or the median or anything.  The driver was able to stop, turn her vehicle around and continue on.  I don’t even think she dropped her call on her cell phone.     But the fact that it was bumper to bumper traffic, and she went across all three lanes with cars going about 60 mph and didn’t hit a thing was incredible.  I thanked God right then as I was driving for keeping everyone safe.  I was in a little car surrounded by big cars.  I was so close to the out of control SUV that I would have been in the thick of a pile up and likely been pretty badly hurt if not worse.  All I could think of while it was happening was the little guy in my backseat.  There was no way anyone would know that he wasn’t my son.  I was worried about how his parents would be notified or not and what that would do to a mother’s heart. 

  My own heart was pounding till I thought it might just come out of my chest.  It took me a long time to get my heart slowed down to a normal rate.  Little guy said as soon as the SUV stopped in the right lane… “Miss Donna, why did that lady do that?”  So sweet and innocent.  I just said I didn’t know.  That was good enough for him.  He sang some more Tarzan songs and then fell asleep without a care in the world. 

  God is so good.  I didn’t change lanes and that open spot was there when the SUV needed it.  Not a thing was hit.  No people were hurt.   It was scary, but God was in control.  Sometimes, I think life is like that but we get a little too caught up in the scariness to notice that God is in control and no one is hurt.  YAY God!!!

  Have a happy day and drive carefully.

  • 7:26 pm
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