protection

Last night as I laid on my couch, curled up under a Christmas blanket my Grandmother gave me a few years ago, the Christmas tree twinkling on my right, the garland in the kitchen glowing and a 1940's holiday classic (my fave Holiday Inn) in the DVD player, I let out a contented sigh. It was a peaceful evening. Cold outside. I was warm snuggled up on the couch in the living room. The wind was howling outside. My tummy was full of yummy pumpkin bread that my sweet roomie had made. My life, this moment, felt very precious. Like a gift. Something I take for granted too often.

Why this thought at such a peaceful moment? I was about 3 seconds away from a serious life threatening car accident yesterday morning. Only 3 little seconds. A quick trip to the airport to drop off my roommate included a little more excitement that that we ever expected. It was misty and 5:30am COLD outside. I was doing the speed limit, but that seemed to be too much when ice is involved. We hit a patch of it at 65-70 miles an hour. My car spun out of control. I grabbed on the the steering wheel and hung on as tightly as I could and prayed that we wouldn't hit anyone (thankfully the traffic was very light because of the early hour) or hit a guard rail (protecting up from the road beneath ours) or flip over. The car finally skidded to a stop a few inches from the guard rail. But it was turned completely around so we were facing the 7 cars that we headed straight towards us.
I truly believe that the Lord was guiding my little car and those around it. There had already been 2 accidents which we could see once the spinning had stopped. They were watching us as we sat there waiting for the cars to pass. And they did. Each one passed by without skidding or sliding at all. I restarted the car and we continued our drive to the airport. No injuries, no damage. Nothing. Not even a flat tire or scratch on the paint. We turned the car around and left as if we had stopped on purpose.
Now it seems silly to say that this is such a big deal. But for some reason, God seemed to be reminding me all day how very fragile our human lives are. He holds us in His hands and He can choose to bring us home to Him at any time He chooses. My Christmas could have been very different. But instead, I went home (driving MUCH slower and a little shakey) and went to church (we had a service with no power because of the ice in the area). I went to lunch with friends. I took a nap. I had a normal Sunday.
But in the back of my mind, the whole day (and still today) I was constantly reminded of the Lord's protection in my life. Sometimes it's in ways I never see. And sometimes He gives me a glimpse of that protection. I saw it yesterday live and in person as my car spun out of control on the ice. And seeing it before me I can do nothing less that thank Him over and over for how He protected me in that moment. How precious is this life He blesses us with!