Yes you read that right.  I was in a car accident yesterday.

I am completely fine.

My van was the only sufferer of any injuries.  Which is a total bummer .  I had just left our church from attending the IF:Gathering Women’s conference and was so inspired and pumped up from listening to Christine Cain’s message.  I was heading south thinking, “I loved that!  I want to do what she does!”  Right at that moment, I saw a black truck in my left peripheral vision moving toward the road I was traveling on.  It all happened so fast.  And I soon realized this truck wasn’t stopping.  I laid on my horn and swerved slightly to the right and WHAM, he ran into the back left quarter panel of my minivan.  The van swung around and before I knew it I was facing the other direction about 50 yards from the incident.  Whoa.  I was just hit!  Yikes.  The car was still somewhat drivable and I drove the wrong way down Maplewood to pull off to the side of the road.  It was 20 degrees outside, very atypical in Texas. We stood outside, shivering in the cold.  I was very appreciative of the owner of the black truck.  He was very kind and apologetic and admitted he wasn’t paying attention and took full responsibility of the accident.  Neither one of us had passengers.  My babies were safe at home.  It hit right where Gavin normally sits in the back seat.  He would have been hysterical.  I was so thankful I was alone.  We exchanged insurance and personal information.  And after another apology, we got in our vehicles and headed home.  As I drove home, my first thought was, “I shouldn’t have gone to the women’s conference.  If I’d just stayed home this wouldn’t have happened.”  and “Our van is now damaged goods.  What if it won’t drive right after this, as it wasn’t driving like normal on the way home.  Is this going to affect our resell down the road?”  Seriously, these were the thoughts I had initially.

But after I came home, told my hubby the details, hugged my sweet children, called the insurance company and was able to process the situation, God gently reminded me of three things throughout the rest of the night.

What My Car Accident Taught Me

• Be thankful.  Be thankful I wasn’t injured.  Be thankful my children weren’t in the car and were safe at home enjoying life.  Be thankful my car can be fixed.  Be thankful the guy who hit me has insurance and was very nice and apologetic.  Be thankful that I’m alive.  Many others in accidents aren’t as fortunate.
• Don’t store up treasures on earth where moths and rust and instantaneous car accidents can destroy.  All the material things I have; house, vehicle, bed, TV, cell phone, computers, etc are ALL replaceable, or fixable.  Human lives are not.  What am I investing in?  Do I place too much value on the THINGS of this world?  Am I missing out on the most important relationships in my life because I spend too much time managing, buying, fixing, cleaning material things?  “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Let my treasure be in my awesome God, my sweet husband and my precious children.
• I am NOT in control.  God is.  I think I have pseudo-control of my life, of my days, of my hours and minutes.  I am disillusioned into believing somehow that I am controlling what happens in this life.  And it took yesterday’s accident to remind me that God is in control.  He can change the direction of my days in a moment.  Am I flexible and willing to bend to God’s will?  Am I seeking His plans for my life?  Am I aligning my life with His kingdom?  Or am I so set in my ways, that I’m missing the calling and direction He is trying to lead me daily?  Am I sitting on the throne in my self focused world, or is God sitting rightly on His throne in my life?

I realized that it wasn’t my fault for going to the women’s conference.  It really wasn’t a matter of “I shouldn’t have left the house.”  Accidents happen.  Quickly.  Without a plan.  The issue was me feeling out of control.  Losing control is scary.  But letting go of control of my life is absolutely necessary.  When life is moving smoothly in a forward direction, God is in control.  When life swerves out of the “normal” path, God is in control.  When life completely changes and I can’t really understand how I got to this place or how I ended up in this direction, God is in control.  God reminded me, “In case you forgot, I have always been and am still in control.”   Thank you God for this necessary reminder.

What is God teaching you right now?