Our destination was about 35 minutes away, and about five minutes from our exit was when things got rough. I was in the lane next to the fast lane (on a four lane highway,) and a car beside me starting coming over on me really quickly. I wasn't too worried, because the fast lane was free so I went to switch lanes. I still look back on it and can't quite figure what happened. The only thing that I've concluded is that the "bad" driver created some kind of vacuum when he tried to come into my lane, and the wind aided in turning a simple annoyance into a big disaster. My car started weaving, mom was repeatedly saying "Take your foot off the break!" and I wasn't even sure I had my foot on the break because I was trying to handle the weaving! The wheel seemed like it was being controlled by someone else! Next thing I knew, the car spun across the highway, and we were headed to a short metal rail near a drop off into some woods. I knew we were going to die. By this point I was definitely pumping the breaks, and we stopped less than a foot from the railing. As we went to exhale, we realized that we were facing the wrong direction blocking a lane of traffic...AND a Mack truck was headed straight for us!
Yes, like that one. Only it was not as pretty when I thought it was going to kill us. I literally pictured my death. Mom and I held up our hands like we were stopping traffic and then it stopped. It just stopped. FEET from our car. The driver got out and asked us if we were okay. "That was close!" he said. You're telling me?! And our angel was actually very good looking too--it wasn't just my happiness to be alive, because I was tearing up and apologizing repeatedly at this point.
Another good Samaritan also pulled his car over and said he was a medic from some university. I so wish I remembered what he said his name was! I'm sure it was quite the picture watching a car skidding across the highway and stopping unscathed with the traffic being what it's always like on 285. Our two angels helped us turn the car around, the Mack truck was blocking the rest of the traffic, and after we were safely in the emergency lane, the big truck drove away. The medic guy asked us again if we were all okay, and then helped us merge back into traffic; this time my mom was driving.
I am so thankful to be alive. That Thursday began a very nerve-wracking weekend, where I couldn't seem to get my balance. I wanted to cry, then laugh, then cry...And I ached terribly. But we were all alive. Me, my mom, and my two sisters in the backseat (who didn't seem so fazed by it all.)
Now, I don't wonder what it's like knowing you're going to die, because I was sure that day that it was happening. I was mainly focused on my family dying because of me, and my mom said she was thinking about dad being alone. I know my destination after death, just as much as I know that it was a God thing that we weren't in a horrible wreck. Safety is of the Lord.
So how was that for a throwback Thursday?
