part of the plan

It's nearly 1am and I am still wide awake. That's not totally unusual, but tonight it's not because I have been productive or that I am enjoying a late night movie with the hubby.

This afternoon as Madelyn and I were driving to meet a couple of friends for dinner we were driving down a road that we go down just about every time we leave our house. Ever since I was in high school I remember everyone talking about how dangerous this road is and since we have lived here, nearly every time it rains there is a car in the ditch. It's at least a 50 foot drop down in to the ditch as you go around the curve.

Today as we approached the curve there was a small truck coming around the corner that was clearly out of control. My heart was pounding. In that moment I wasn't sure what the next few seconds would hold. I had my precious girl in my back seat and a truck coming at us at 50 miles an hour that was completely unpredictable. I swerved towards the edge of the road and literally right before we hit, the truck began to roll in the opposite direction. In a matter of seconds it had rolled several times off the road and out of sight. I was panicking. I knew that I had to stop. I knew that I had to check on the passengers of the other vehicle but I was so scared. I pulled over in a "safe spot" on the curve, called 911, couldn't find my hazard lights because I was so shaken so I settled for my blinker instead and grabbed Madelyn. I kept trying to flag passersby down to stop but no one would pull over. From the moment I started running down the drop off I kept repeating, "Lord let them be alive and keep Madelyn and I safe."

The truck was completely upside down in the ditch. The only passenger was hanging upside down, covered in blood but alert. He kept calling for help and I assured him that help was on it's way. I will spare the gory details, but once the driver looked down and realized how badly he was injured, he began to panic and scream.

It was terrible. It scared Madelyn. It made me want to throw up.

His name is Scott. He works at Wal-mart. I am certain that's not how he envisioned his day to go when he woke up.

When we were driving back home I went a different way but when I got to the intersection near the wreck I noticed another truck in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. I could see in the distance that they were still working the first accident. I asked the DPS officer if Scott was OK. He said that he was going to make it.

I can't shake the images that I saw. I can't shake the thought that this was not how Scott planned for his day to go. I also can't help but think of how blessed he is to still be alive.

Sometimes things happen that aren't "part of the plan". It's in those moments that I am thankful for a loving Creator and realize that without my faith I would be lost. My prayer tonight is that Scott has that same feeling of security in our Heavenly Father.

Isaiah 41:10 says “…do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”