“Hey, I need you” were the words that made my heart
race. I knew something was wrong when I
heard the phone ring. Call it a Mother’s
instinct or whatever, but I knew.
Josh and his best friend, Josh R., had left for work about
15 minutes earlier. It was really
raining and I had received a text from Josh R.’s Mom telling me that water was
standing on the roads. The boys were
driving separate vehicles so I called my Josh to tell him about the road
conditions and tell him to be careful.
Five minutes later he called me.
“Hey, I need you”.
“Why?” I asked but I was already running to get my
shoes.
“I’m in a ditch on the side of the interstate.”
“Are you hurt?” I’m frantically looking for my keys.
“No, I’m ok”
“Don’t move. I’m on
my way.”
The lights and tv were on.
The cat was in the house. My hair
unbrushed and still wearing glasses instead of contacts, I ran to the car. It was still pouring down rain and I had to
remind myself that I would be of no help to my son if I wrecked on the way to
him.
By the time I arrived, I had talked to him two more
times. I knew that he either hydroplaned
or had a front-tire blowout. I knew that
he was not hurt and the car seemed to be ok.
I knew that no other vehicles were involved but mainly, I knew that he
was ok.
Pulling to a stop, I jumped out of the car and hugged my son
in the pouring rain. Nothing else
mattered. He was in one piece. He was ok.
I must have been a sight because the police that showed up
on the scene asked if it was my car. I
said no, it’s my son’s. After hearing
the story, the young black police officer put his arm around my shoulder and
squeezed. Even now, that small gesture
brings tears to my eyes. It was a
sincere act of compassion on his part and it touched me deeply.
Mom and Dad arrived a few minutes after I did. We decided to leave the car until the rain
slowed. Josh and I headed to their house
to calm down a little and honestly, we just needed the strength and comfort
that their home offers.
It was then that I began to get the details of what happened
and understand how the hand of God had been on my son. As I said, it was raining heavily. Josh hit a water pocket and began
hydroplaning. He did a 360 in the middle
of the highway, by God’s grace there was no traffic close to him. He slid off the right side of the interstate,
opposite the side of the road lined with metal posts and fencing. He skidded sideways up a 30 foot embankment
and landed nose first into the ditch, facing the road.
There was no impact, so the airbags did not deploy. There were no obstructions so there was no
damage to the car except a flat tire. There was nothing to
cause injury to my son.
As the Joshes walked out of my house that morning I prayed, “God,
watch over my boys” (the second Josh is technically not mine but he's one of the many boys that have a special place in our family, so I consider him mine.)
He did.
This was a vivid reminder that I do not control the things
that happen in my life. Neither do I
control the things that happen in my kids’ lives. While I try to do what’s best for them and I
try to “control” the things I can, ultimately there is not ONE thing that I can
do on my own. Now, this is not a new
concept but something that I obviously needed a refresher on. I am a Christian. I have given my life to Christ. He alone has control over all and I trust Him
with that. I told Josh on the way home
from church today how very thankful I am that God watched over him and kept him
safe (I’ve told him this at least a dozen times in the last 24 hours) but I
also explained that even if things had turned out differently…if he had been
injured….if the car was totaled….if…if…if…God would still have been in control
and I still put my complete faith and trust in Him. That’s a hard thing but if I trust Him, I
must trust Him completely.
I do. I falter, but I
do. I am human, but I do. It is a choice. I do.
