I hope you all have committed to our Journey through Proverbs!! I pray that you are blessed through this reading and that we all grow a deeper knowledge and understanding of what the Lord is calling us to do, be and how to live.
My intention for this week’s blog was to write about what I hoped to gain from this journey, but God had a different plan!
I will admit: I usually use my phone when I am driving. I know, I know…a big, HUGE no no!! I am always working to just unplug and drive! Please pray for me regarding this matter, and I will pray for you just the same.
Today, I was not texting and driving…
I was on my way home from meeting with my professor at Texas Southern University about a 40-45 minute drive from my house. I was coming up on the 610 merge when I saw a funeral procession on the southbound side. I’m from a relatively small city in Kentucky. I’m sure you’ve heard of it…Lexington. You know, Wildcats…UK..#bigbluenation?!?! I digress…
Lexington is small, and we have small town customs. Whenever a funeral procession passes you in Lexington (and I’m sure countless other places), the custom is to pull over or stop and turn the radio off until the hearse passes. Because Houston is so big, it’s not really practical (or safe) to do, so I will usually turn my music down and say a prayer for the family. That’s just what I did today.
I can’t really say what happened after I prayed. I obviously didn’t close my eyes, but I was somehow not focused on the road. My mind was gone. Thinking about life and death always gives me pause. The next thing I knew, however, I was going full speed into slowing traffic. “Oh, God!” I yelled as I slammed on my brakes. Because I was on the highway going at least probably 70 miles per hour, braking was not going to be sufficient. I glanced in my side-view mirror and leaped over to the left lane. I was panicked, and I didn’t want to hit the barrier. My car was slowing down but still had some speed. “Turn back…don’t hit the barrier,” I thought. As I tried to correct my vehicle, maintain my lane, and not hit anyone, the car was kind of going out of control. The “vehicle stability assistant” feature turned on and steadied my car.
You know why I quoted “vehicle stability assistant” right??? #ButGod I was safe; the other drivers were safe, and my vehicle was not damaged!! I was full of adrenaline. I immediately started thanking God!! Praise break right in the car, right! I know I was not on my phone, but my mind was in Lala Land. My mind was, but God’s mind was right there with me!
It’s kind of crazy to think about how I would have slammed right into the back of the car at 70 miles per hour if I had not snapped back at that precise moment. There was no other second to spare. Although the experience was frightening, I thank God for giving me a warning that I really have to give up using my phone while driving. I thank God for giving me that message to give to you.
Most of all, however, I thank God for loving me more than I love myself, for looking out for my safety even when I am not!
Next time, I’ll write about my experience with Proverbs. This word could not wait!!
Thank you, God!
