Accidents Happen

'A Divine Collision' seemed a fitting title for this blog with very good reasons and those reasons went from the cosmetic realization to a deeper understanding of my conversion in two disctinct ways.

Nine days after giving my heart to Christ, on July 23, 2011, I rolled my car on George Bush Freeway and by all accounts, I should be dead, for I had at least three opportunites for me to die in that accident. 

I was on my way to work.  I was in someone's blindspot and when I realized he really didnt see me, I swerved, fishtailed, and rolled three times.  In the process, the landscaping my mother always complains about (she swears that's why tolls are so high) saved my life as they created a buffer and kept me from hitting the cement dividers.  I then landed right side up, feet from the concrete colums that hold up Preston Road.  When I crawled out of the passenger window, I had the choice (in my dazed and confused state) to go either left or right. I went right, and realized a few days later, had I gone to the left, within a matter of feet, I would have stood directly into incoming traffic.

The first woman who came to my aide happened to be a registered nurse. Go figure.  I even told her, "you know whats funny?" She said, "what?"  And I replied, "I just became a Christian last week."  I remember her stunned amazement as she replied back to me, her shoulder length brown hair slightly disheveled and seemingly glowing as the sun was setting behind her, "Well, you should pray, because He is certainly with you."  I know that moment will forever be in her mind, just as it is in mine. 

Then I remember seeing all of my makeup, all over the highway, all ten thousand dollars worth of makeup, my lifeline, my business as a makeup artist. Gone.  Thats when I lost it.  No bother I had just rolled in my car, but I was worried about my makeup, and said I had to go to work, I had people waiting on me.

I was rushed to the hospital I gave birth in eight years ago.  Haven't been there since the day I left with my newborn, Amelie.  This time, I left that hospital, after rolling my car, with nothing more than a half inch scratch on my left foot.

Shortly after coming home (and not being entirely doped up on pain meds) I continued my reading of Proverbs.  I was reading a Proverb a day.  When I realized I hadn't read in a few days, I backtracked and was simply dumbstruck at Proverbs 23:35 "They struck me," you will say, "but I was not hurt."  My accident was on July 23 and I was not hurt.  Very early, the Lord was showing me I needed to pay attention.

The entire purpose of this story was revealed to me in the ER.  Even an anonymous person behind the curtain in the same room as me declared his confusion at the peaceful and happy state I maintained, seeing the Good in this experience.

The only window that didn't break was my driver's side window.  That was God saying, "Look lady, you aren't now, haven't ever been, and never will be in the drivers seat.  That's my job."  That was primary.  Secondarily, it was to get me to talk about God, about Christ, even the Holy Spirit -- to make them relational to me -- particularly since "christian jargon" is such a huge part in my distaste for religion.  I mean, at this point, even saying "Jesus" was weird.






Now, I had been going to Recovery at the Dallas Campus of the Village Church.  After breaking up with my English Professor, I decided, living an equal distance between Dallas and Flower Mound, to leave him the Dallas campus, should he decide to lift his feet and walk in the light, and I went to the Flower Mound campus, since I was growing in community there.

That was an awesome evening and confirmed I was definately in the right place.

When I left, I went to the Racetrac on 407 to get some gas.  I told the gal behind the counter, "Twenty on six, please."  THe response I got was not one I expected.  There she was, this little blonde thing, asking me, "You were just in a car accident, right?"  I thought to myself (since it was like 9 o'clock), "Do I really look that bad?"  She restated her question with an answer, "No, you were just in an accident, in July."

How random is this? That accident was in Plano, at George Bush & Preston Road in JULY and here it is DECEMBER in Flower Mound, Texas, what a twenty mile difference? Out of how many thousands, even in that twenty mile difference? And this girl tells me, "Yes, I am the one who picked up your makeup."

Shut the front door.  Thanks to her effort and concern for me and my screaming about my livelihood at hte scene of the accident, picked up all the makeup she could find, which resulted in 98.9% of my kit being found, undamaged, and usable.  But wait, it gets better:

Her mother was the registered nurse who first came to my aide.  Yep.

I was blessed to ask her if she went the Village church down the street, and suprisingly she said no.  She had mentioned she found herself wondering about me in theese months, and when I confessed I too had the same questions of her, I ripped my name tag off my shirt, should she like to find me on Facebook.  I handed it to her, explaining this was a Godthing, how ever since that accident, I learned "accidents" and "coincidence" simply don't exsist.  I say that with utmost confidence, because as you read this blog, you will see there are far too many I get slapped with on the daily.  It really is mind blowing - hence this blog.

Now, I know this blog will have a ripple effect, just like my video has with just over 2000 views.  The impact this blog became real to me, right after writing my very first post on Friday, when I freaking ran into (yes, ran into) not one, but two cement poles at a drive thru on my way to the bank, causing ridiculous damage to my brand new car.  I cant even open the darned door.  I'm going to need two new doors. 

So I just knew, right then, how impactful this was going to be.

On Saturday, I took a small group of people to the Kimbell Art museum to explore a ministry idea I have teaching people how to share the gospel either while on vacation (since the museums we all flock to are full and European churches are empty -- even hosting art exhibits to stay open) or even to train missionaries going to Europe.  

It was the last weekend for my second favorite painter of all time, Caravaggio, who lived in a time much like our own -- doubtful of religion and super selfish, smack in the middle of Counter Reformation Rome..  Anywho, I had a glance at his Sacrifice of Isaac and saw it completely differently.

Just look at Isaacs face.  Sometimes, when God gets a hold of you, that is what it feels like. 

 Then it hit me just how perfect a title this is, A Divine Collision, because yes, it all started with a car accident, but before even that, was the collision of my will to that of God's, particularly in the moment He made Himself known to me on my little, dingy couch in Plano Texas.