The three onlookers

At GCC this past Wednesday Ron spoke about setting up "ducks" in my life that are difinitive places where I have seen God working. I pulled this story from a year ago, but wanted to share it with you if you haven't heard it.

//December 29,2007//
This past week was spent in Minnesota with my fantastic family. It was a welcome break from Fort Bragg.My trip was very interesting. I left Kalamazoo around 0230, hoping to beat the rush through Chicago and make it to Minneapolis around 10am. The roads were clear and traffic was light when I left. The temperature was around 48 degrees.

I got through Chicago without incident. However, as soon as I hit the west side, the temperature started to drop very quickly and the snow began to fall. Temperatures were now at 16 degrees.I kept driving north into Wisconsin cheese country, as the temperature kept dropping and the traffic steadily became more congested.

I pulled over around 0740 to grab some coffee from Starbucks. They weren't open yet because their delivery truck was stuck in the weather, however, after my sob story of being deployed to Iraq and this potentially being my last cup of hot coffee in the United States, they were obliged to give me a fresh brewed cup. As they passed it out the window they said, "Don't drink it for a while because it's extra, extra hot." And they were right. Even with gloves on and the cardboard coffee wrap, my hands still felt hot.I got back on the freeway and kept driving north, determined to "be home for Christmas".

About fifteen minutes later I'm cruising along and decided to call my mom on my high-speed hands free device. We're chatting and joking when all of a sudden my car hit black ice and immediately began turning clockwise on the freeway at 55 mph. It completed a 180 degree turn, slid to the side of the road, hit the ditch, flipped on it side, and continued sliding into the ditch until it came to a halt. I had my seatbelt on, and was laying on my side with the ground right next to my head. I was still on speakerphone with my mom, and had just finished narrating the entire thing to her as it happened, so she sounded very distressed and asked me all sorts of questions.

I undo my seatbelt and turn off the vehicle. I look up to the passenger door and there are two faces staring back at me. It shocked me at first because it had only been 30 seconds or so since the accident. They ask if I'm okay. "Yeah, I'm fine." It was two men who looked like they were from West Virginia and had baled hay their entire lives.One man opened the passenger door and held it open for me, while the other grabbed my hands and helped me out. As I'm pulled out, I noticed there was a third person standing next to the two men. It was a women, dressed in a white fur coat. She says, "Are you okay? Do you have any injuries? I'm a registered nurse, let me look you over."

She has me pull off my hat, she examines my head, and then checks for any other injuries. She smiles and says, "Everything checks out". Just then, a police car pulls up. Again, I'm shocked because I hadn't called for any help yet. The state police officer began asking me questions, and put me into his car to stay warm. The officer needed my registration, so I went to my vehicle and opened the passenger door, holding it open while I fumbled around in the glove compartment. Those doors are heavier than they look!

After a moment, I retrieved my registration. As I was shutting the door, I noticed my coffee cup. Remember? That steaming hot cup of coffee? It was sitting, straight up, without the lid, on the drivers side window, completely full. It had not spilled one drop during the accident. Unbelievable.I walked back to the police cruiser, just as a fire truck was stopping at the scene to check that there weren't any injuries. It was still only five minutes after the accident.

About five minutes later, a tow truck pulls up, flips my car right side up, and hoists it out of the ditch and onto the back of his truck.The truck driver took me south, about five miles, to DeForest. We drop my car off at the repair shop and he offers me a ride to the airport to pick up a rental. I said, "Aren't you still on duty?" He says, "Actually, this works out well. You were my last pickup so I'm off the clock now and would be happy to give you a ride." So, he drives me twenty minutes south to Madison to get a rental.

I decided to continue driving to Minneapolis, but I first wanted to grab everything out of my car in case it was declared a "total". As I'm cleaning out my car, another tow truck drops off another SUV that had rolled. The truck driver says, "I hope you aren't planning to go out there, it's real bad. We just received a call to go and get another car that had flipped in the ditch." This changed my mind, and I got a hotel room and waited out the storm. So I made it up safely the next day. After thinking about the incident and going over everything in my head, I realize how much God had His hand on the entire accident.

The most amazing part were the three people who arrived almost instantly after the crash happened. Although I didn't think of it at the time, I never recalled any vehicles at the scene but mine. The three onlookers didn't have a car anywhere near mine and I never saw where they went after my attention was diverted to the police officer. I am convinced that the Lord allowed me to visually see my guardian angels, even for a brief moment.

He also provided a police car, a fire truck, and a tow truck right behind me before the accident happened so that they were on the scene immediately. He orchestrated where my hot coffee would fly during the accident, and he provided me transportation to the airport by means of an off-duty truck driver. And to top it off, I didn't have any injuries. I am grateful this holiday season to worship a God who answers prayers before I even ask.

"Before they call, I will answer. While they are still speaking, I will hear."-Isaiah 65:24