Thank You Lord For Saving My Son!

I believed all along that God existed. My problem was that I blamed God for all of my troubles and hated this life He gave me. Surely every bad thing that happened to me was His fault ...or so I thought. If I turned to Him and asked for forgiveness I could never live up to it. I would certainly fail and fall right back into my sinful ways. It would never work for me. I was too far gone. My Mom spent many hours sharing with me about God’s love and how He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, to die for sinners like me. Still I resisted. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen. My Mom felt it too and warned me of it. Even then I wouldn’t turn to the Lord. I was always a hot head and had to learn things the hard way. I guess God got tired of my insults and accusations. He decided it was time for a wake call.

The morning of Oct.11, 2005 started out like any other morning. I awoke after a normal night’s sleep, had several cups of coffee and headed home. My brother Dave needed to use the car for work that day. Home was only 5 miles away. I never got there. To this day I still don’t know what caused me to cross the center line and collide head on with a pick up truck. It was as if I had blacked out and came to just before impact. Once again darkness closed in. When I awoke I didn’t hear a sound. I was aware that something had happened and was spitting glass out of my mouth. There was blood everywhere. I tried to open my door but it was jammed. Climbing over the back seat I was able to open the passenger side door and climb out of the car. I tried to stand but couldn’t. I was terrified and sat crying until help arrived. They strapped me down on a stretcher and rushed me into the ambulance. I kept asking them if I was going to die. They assured me I was not. I could hear them whispering to each other that I wasn’t going to make it.. I began to pray, and not for my life either. I asked God to forgive me for my sins through His Son, Jesus Christ. I prayed, all the way to the hospital, talking to God and just telling Him how I felt. I wasn’t really afraid of dying. I was more afraid of going to hell!

Hours later, after x-rays, stitches and much gentle scrubbing I was finally able to see my Mom, my brother Dave, my girlfriend Dotty and Pastor Matt. All I could say when I saw them was, "I’ve been saved!" My Mom kind of laughed and cried at the same time. Pastor Matt told me that God was trying to get my attention. He got it alright! I was released later on that day with a fractured pelvis, fractured ankle, two severed tendons in my right pinky, 18 stitches in my mouth, a concussion, stitches in my head as well as broken teeth.

The Church was praying for my recovery. I was told that I wouldn’t be able to walk for six months and needed to remain in a wheelchair. I was healed and allowed to walk in three months. That’s proof to me that God does hear the prayers of those who believe in Him. Sometimes things still don’t go the way I plan them, but his plan is always the best. I trust Him with my life and my soul. In Christ Alone, R.A.

God certainly had control over the circumstances surrounding this accident. My son was not wearing a seat belt. His head and face hit the windshield. The path the car took after impact led through the only unobstructed area on that side of the road. ( See first photo) To the left of the path were several trees. To the right of the path was a telephone pole. This story ( and his life) could have ended on either one. Instead the car traveled quite some distance out into an open field. Praise God for His love and mercy!