Hitting ditches and deer
Call me an optimist or that I live in a fantasy world. After all, who else sees accidents as evidence of God's handiwork?
A few weeks ago, my wife and I were camping in Saskatchewan. My youngest sister drove up and met us there for a night, and we were going to travel up the next day to see my older brother and his wife. The shortest route was along a dirt road, rather than twice the distance on a mostly paved highway. My sister drives a 1999 Crown Victoria she had just purchased less than a year ago.
Because she was planning to leave for England just a month later, we decided that I would drive with her to spend the extra hour together. I asked her along the way if she was comfortable driving on gravel, to which she said "Yeah. If I start fishtailing, maybe I'll get you to drive." Funny, I was going to say "By then it may be too late...."
She was doing really well, though, and I wasn't worried. However, she built up a little too much speed going through a small dip in the road, and as she crested the other side, we both realized she was going too fast for the corner. She turned harder, to avoid going right over the edge, and the rear tires lost their grip and slid. After a few seconds of dust and rocks and sliding this way and that, we finally came to a dirt covered stop.
Where was God's hand in this? We hit the ditch, right? Shouldn't God's hand have kept us from hitting the ditch in the first place?
Well, first of all, I was in the car with her. With my wife and family in front on a dusty road, it took her a few miles to realize we were no longer behind her. The time it took my wife to find us, my sister would've been alone for more than 15 minutes in the middle of nowhere. Also, there was no damage to the car. In the middle of a very thick forest, the ditch was just wide enough to fit a '99 Crown Victoria sideways! And, the tires didn't blow.
In other words, we as believers are not immune to hitting a ditch! However, we can be assured that God will protect us when and if it happens, and even if the outcome is worse than my sister and I experienced, it is still within God's often practical plans.
And the deer? Well, just a week ago I was driving home at night an hit a deer. Again, where was God's hand in this? Well, many ways. First of all, it was a relatively small deer, so he didn't cause much damage. Plus, it was with my Nissan Pathfinder instead of our Grand Am, so it was a much tougher vehicle. Had we hit it with the Grand Am, who knows how much a new front end, headlight assembly, radiator and who knows what else would've cost us? Instead, all I need is a new bumper and signal light for an '87 Pathfinder.
But that's not all. First of all, my friend who gave me the Pathfinder to begin with also had a new front bumper that I hadn't gotten around to installing yet! Plus, the signal light was already broken, and I just hadn't made my way to the junk yard to pick up a new one! But the best part of it all, is my wife was actually driving the Grand Am in front of me at the time, but decided to turn and take a back way in to our acreage. I decided to keep going straight to see which way was actually faster, and not 20 feet past the intersection, I hit the deer!
Needless to say, my way was slower that night.
The God of practicality. The God who can be explained away. And yet you can see his fingerprints all over both of these situations, if you know what you're looking for.
A few weeks ago, my wife and I were camping in Saskatchewan. My youngest sister drove up and met us there for a night, and we were going to travel up the next day to see my older brother and his wife. The shortest route was along a dirt road, rather than twice the distance on a mostly paved highway. My sister drives a 1999 Crown Victoria she had just purchased less than a year ago.
Because she was planning to leave for England just a month later, we decided that I would drive with her to spend the extra hour together. I asked her along the way if she was comfortable driving on gravel, to which she said "Yeah. If I start fishtailing, maybe I'll get you to drive." Funny, I was going to say "By then it may be too late...."
She was doing really well, though, and I wasn't worried. However, she built up a little too much speed going through a small dip in the road, and as she crested the other side, we both realized she was going too fast for the corner. She turned harder, to avoid going right over the edge, and the rear tires lost their grip and slid. After a few seconds of dust and rocks and sliding this way and that, we finally came to a dirt covered stop.
Where was God's hand in this? We hit the ditch, right? Shouldn't God's hand have kept us from hitting the ditch in the first place?
Well, first of all, I was in the car with her. With my wife and family in front on a dusty road, it took her a few miles to realize we were no longer behind her. The time it took my wife to find us, my sister would've been alone for more than 15 minutes in the middle of nowhere. Also, there was no damage to the car. In the middle of a very thick forest, the ditch was just wide enough to fit a '99 Crown Victoria sideways! And, the tires didn't blow.
In other words, we as believers are not immune to hitting a ditch! However, we can be assured that God will protect us when and if it happens, and even if the outcome is worse than my sister and I experienced, it is still within God's often practical plans.
And the deer? Well, just a week ago I was driving home at night an hit a deer. Again, where was God's hand in this? Well, many ways. First of all, it was a relatively small deer, so he didn't cause much damage. Plus, it was with my Nissan Pathfinder instead of our Grand Am, so it was a much tougher vehicle. Had we hit it with the Grand Am, who knows how much a new front end, headlight assembly, radiator and who knows what else would've cost us? Instead, all I need is a new bumper and signal light for an '87 Pathfinder.
But that's not all. First of all, my friend who gave me the Pathfinder to begin with also had a new front bumper that I hadn't gotten around to installing yet! Plus, the signal light was already broken, and I just hadn't made my way to the junk yard to pick up a new one! But the best part of it all, is my wife was actually driving the Grand Am in front of me at the time, but decided to turn and take a back way in to our acreage. I decided to keep going straight to see which way was actually faster, and not 20 feet past the intersection, I hit the deer!
Needless to say, my way was slower that night.
The God of practicality. The God who can be explained away. And yet you can see his fingerprints all over both of these situations, if you know what you're looking for.
posted by Scott at 9:10 PM
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