Thursday, late morning at 11:30, we were driving down the interstate enjoying the Virginia scenery, but not enjoying the traffic. As the family chatted, there suddenly came a tense pause in the conversation. Just ahead we saw a little white Mazda convertible car that was smashed into the guardrail on the right shoulder. Dad rapidly started to slow down. We were concerned to see no emergency vehicles there, and only two cars stopped in the median with their hazard lights on. As we passed the wrecked car, which was still steaming, we saw a person slumped over the steering wheel, and nobody there to help. Dad stopped the bus on the shoulder, we guys grabbed the first aid kit and started running toward the car while Sarah called 911.

On the way by the rear compartment (in Uriah), I grabbed some cones and dropped them behind the bus to alert other drivers that we were also parked on the shoulder. Christopher and Joseph, reaching the car first, quickly ascertained that there wasn’t a fire, and that they couldn’t smell gas. Inside was a lady, in her late forties to early fifties, who was in shock. She was holding a napkin to her head, where her forehead had impacted the steering wheel. Christopher asked her if she was hurt anywhere else, and she said that maybe her shoulder was hurt. He was in the process of getting a bandage out of the first aid kit when the fire truck showed up, and they took over.

The two gentlemen, who had stopped in the median, by now had crossed the two lanes of traffic. We asked them what had happened, and they said that a truck had passed her and pulled in too early, striking her car which started her spinning. It appeared she had impacted the guard rail multiple times, coming to stop facing traffic, with her driver door against the rail. The car was a total loss, but her life was saved because she was wearing her seatbelt and there had been a guard rail to protect from the steep drop off.

As we started walking back to the bus, a state trooper pulled up. We told him that we just stopped to help, that the truck involved didnâ’t stop, and we didn’t see the accident, but the witnesses were still there. He thanked us, and we returned to the bus.

The Lord spared this woman’s life and gave her another chance. If there hadn’t been the guard rail, and if she hadn’t have had her seat belt on, she probably wouldn’t have survived. Our prayer is that if she doesn’t know Jesus, she would come to know Him through this. She was very blessed that her injuries appeared to be relatively minor.

I wonder if there is anyone who is reading this post that doesn’t know Jesus. We are not guaranteed another day. It could be a car wreck that instantly takes a life. It could be a multitude of possible health problems.

Life is so fragile. I would encourage you to decide where you will spend eternity. Some might say, “Well, I will decide later.” However, there might not be a “later.”  By not deciding now you are making a decision to stay in your sins and spend eternity in Hell. How many chances has Jesus given you, and what have you done with them?

“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

John