DOWN HOME: Furious moments & fervent thanks_110303

Posted: 10/31/03

DOWN HOME:
Furious moments & fervent thanks

Take some deep breaths. Feel your heart beat. Name five people you love. Now, thank God you've still got breaths to breathe and a heart to beat so you can go on loving them.

I admit I took breaths and heartbeats and, yes, even the love of family and friends a little bit for granted until a couple of Sundays ago.

Joanna, our daughter Molly, Molly's friends Ashton and Malsi, and I neared the end of a great weekend. We had driven from our home in Lewisville out to Abilene for Hardin-Simmons University's homecoming.

MARV KNOX Editor

Hardin-Simmons' homecoming is a festive affair for our household: Joanna and I graduated from HSU 24 years ago, and we love that school. That's especially true now, since Lindsay, our oldest daughter, is a sophomore there. We appreciate any excuse to drive out and shower our big girl with hugs and kisses.

Homecoming '03 lived up to its billing. We got to share some meals with Lindsay. The Cowboys won their football game in overtime. All-School Sing was terrific. And we visited with friends we hadn't seen in ages.

But eventually we had to go home, and as we entered Weatherford, we drove in a downpour. That's why the driver of an 18-wheeler bound for Mississippi didn't see our car beside his trailer as he pulled into our lane.

The truck forced us off the road on the left. We hydroplaned right, then left, as I struggled to get back onto and stay on the highway. The left swerve propelled us through the median, where we struck a culvert that slowed us so we stopped–perpendicular to traffic in the westbound lanes of Interstate 20. In the corner of my eye, I saw two 18-wheelers bearing down on the passenger side of our car, where Jo and Molly sat. Fortunately, our engine had not died and responded when I stomped on the gas.

We wound up facing west on the far side of the highway after swerving out of control on the eastbound lanes, plowing through the median, stalling on the westbound lanes and never once touching another car or truck.

Someone asked what I thought during those furious moments, which remain amazingly clear in my mind. The struggle with an out-of-control vehicle is instinctive, not rational, but I remember thinking we were going to pull out OK until we hydroplaned. As we halted sideways on the Interstate, I thought about how vulnerable and exposed Jo and Molly were with those trucks racing toward us.

My life didn't “pass before my eyes,” and the Lord protected me from panic. I didn't fear death, not because I've led a blameless life, but because Jesus is my Savior and “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

But standing on the side of the road, my knees nearly buckled as I thought about how close we had come to leaving Lindsay all alone.

Thank God for life and for the loves of your life. Never take either for granted.