God Always Protects Us

It was two weeks before Christmas and the day of our Christian Women’s Christmas luncheon. There were a lot of festive activities and surprises for the ladies. I left home early that morning to supervise the luncheon setup.

I was driving slowly and carefully in my 1969 4x4 Bronco as the snow was getting heavier. As I approached a curve and the crest of a hill, directly in front of me was a car stopped in the middle of the road. I had three choices that required an immediate decision. 

I could swerve around it on the left side into oncoming traffic and a rock wall. Or I could swerve to the right, take the ditch, and possibly go over the cliff. My third choice was to rear end the car and hope for the best. In a fleeting second, I decided to swerve to the left. 

The Unexpected Happened...

The Bronco was light and had large tires that made it higher than most and tipsy.  When I swerved, it flipped end-over-end two times. I had seen cars that rolled over side-to-side, but I had never seen one roll end-over-end. 

As the Bronco started into the first roll, I felt as though I was flying in slow motion. It continued into its second roll, and I knew that I had to control whether I lived or died.  I cried aloud “NO! In the Name of Jesus.”  

The second cry was louder than the first “NO!” and the truck landed upright facing the opposite direction. I had survived but did not realize the impact it had.

All the windows were smashed as well as the six empty glass milk bottles in the back seat. The back tailgate was thrown open, and I crawled out the back without realizing I was barefoot. My shoes were knocked off during the impact. The entire inside of the truck was littered with broken glass, yet I escaped without a cut.

The lady who had stopped her car pulled over to the shoulder and came running to me. 

“Are you all right?  I am so sorry.  Two dogs were crossing the road and I stopped for them.”

“Are you crazy?”  I screamed at her.  “Do you realize you could have killed me or both of us?”

“I wasn’t thinking.”  She tried to put her arm around me.

“Get my shoes.  My feet are freezing. I have a meeting to attend, and I am late.”

“But you’re hurt.  I need to get you to a hospital.”

What Happened Next...

I would hear none of it.  I continued to shout orders to her and made her crawl into my truck, across the broken glass, to get all the gifts and totes I had prepared for the luncheon. 

She introduced herself as Bonnie and she would take me home. My Bronco was safely out of the way of oncoming traffic, but I was determined to get to the luncheon.  We argued about it, and I started to feel the pain of the accident so agreed to let her take me home.

Once there, I changed my pantyhose, which had runs and bits of glass. I looked in the mirror and saw a huge goose egg growing in the center of my forehead but otherwise, I was pretty much intact.  I noticed a lot of small particles of glass in my hair but left them alone. 

Time was fleeting and we had to make the trip back into town. It would take close to an hour as it was snowing heavily now. The luncheon started at noon, and it was already 11:30.

My husband, Paul, was noticeably upset. His voice was shaking as he tried to comfort me. I was more concerned that I had smashed our only means of transportation. The children stared at me and did not say a word. They were scared. I was so determined to get back to town I told them I was fine. They did not question it.

God Protected Me

Bonnie drove me back to town, and I invited her to stay for the luncheon. When I entered, everyone had been served and several women had looked after the preliminaries. When they saw me, everyone stood up and clapped. I was embarrassed and assured them I was fine.

Throughout the rest of the luncheon, my goose egg continued to grow, and I started to hurt all over. Our speaker shared her story of how she came to know Jesus. Her message touched Bonnie’s heart and she accepted Jesus as her Savior. 

Although I was feeling quite rough and had a terrible headache, I was thrilled God protected me and opened the door for Bonnie to accept Him into her life. I was anxious to go home, pull the glass out of my hair and get into comfy pajamas.

On the trip home, in almost the exact location of the accident, Bonnie’s car slid into the ditch and got stuck.  Although we were concerned and I was on the verge of tears, we had to laugh. 

She stood on the side of the road to wait for someone to help us and contact the police to send a tow truck.  It took almost two hours before help arrived. It was dark by the time I finally got home. I broke down and wept.

God Always Protects Us

The Bronco had been our only means of transportation, and we had no insurance. But I believed then as always, that God orchestrates our lives. He knows what is going to happen before it does and always protects us. He would get us through this as long as we trusted Him.  

And despite everything that happened, the angels in heaven rejoiced that day. Bonnie’s name was written in the Book of Life.

Watch this video for another true story of how God protects us and His amazing provision.