My Life. My Journey. Close Calls

It’s amazing how many close calls I’ve had in my life. I’m referring to those moments that you reflect back on and realize that you almost died.

I remember one day when I was 11 or 12, I crossed the street without really paying attention; I was focused on getting across the road to see a girl. (I’ll refrain from cracking any jokes about women being that downfall of men.) As I crossed the street on my bike, a Mercedes-Benz came racing along (and I do mean racing). He saw me ride out and slammed on his brakes. When he finally came to a screeching halt, his bumper was about an arm’s length away from me.

There were many times like this when, looking back, I see that the Lord spared my life. Members of my family have also shared many accounts with me of times when the Lord spared their lives. 

Take for example my grandpa (on my dad’s side) whose car was T-boned in an intersection. When one of the officers arrived on the scene, he gave my dad his condolences. My dad responded by telling him that my grandpa was in the hospital. The police offer was shocked; the car looked like it got crushed in a can opener. My grandpa ended up making a full recovery.

Or take my Aunt Karen’s account from December 13, 2010: 

Last week I drove to Nana’s; it took me 1.5 hrs. I HONESTLY thought I was going to lose my life.  Cars were spinning out all over the place and people were crashing and ending up in ditches! I finally got to Nana’s, took some deep breaths in the parking lot, and composed myself enough to stop shaking and go in.  When I went through the door to the lobby a little old lady was sitting there; she handed me a folded paper. I opened it up and it said ‘Jesus Saves’. I told her that I honestly thought that my life had been saved that night.

In October of 1983, my grandma received a Bible as a gift from her brother and sister-in-law. It was a gift that she didn’t really want. It wasn’t until February of 1984 that she picked it up and started looking through it to find information on “fear, worry and anxiety”. 

Earlier that day the doctor had called and told her that he had found two masses on her kidneys. It was so serious that my grandma thought her life was over. She knew nothing about Jesus but pleaded with Him, “If you will spare my life, I will serve you.” After that, her brother Jerry led her to the Lord.

She recounts: 

Until your heart is ready and your eyes and ears are opened, people can preach all they want and talk about the Lord, but until that moment that God has for you, that special appointment—you don’t hear it. You really don’t hear it. Only when God knows you’re ready, your heart is opened up for Jesus. For people to say that God doesn’t exist, they have absolutely no idea what they’re saying.

It’s now 2014 as I finish up this book, and my grandma is alive and well. The Lord took my grandma up on her offer, and then some.

Here are two of Carolyn’s accounts: 

I recall being the young age of 9 and visiting with a friend at her dad’s workplace, which happened to be the local jailhouse. We were goofing around in his office while he was checking on the inmates, when I began to choke on a gobstopper candy. I don’t have any way of telling how long I was without breath but I can still feel the fear of not being able to help myself. My friend didn’t know how to stop someone from choking so she just slapped me on the back repetitively. I distinctly remember silently calling out the words, ‘God, please help me!’ It was at the moment I requested His help that the candy became dislodged and I could breathe again. This remains such a vivid memory that even now, I can recall each second of this traumatic event.

Fast forwarding to today, I can tell you that there are so many more instances in my life that I felt saved from a tragic end. Recently I was driving on a fairly high-speed roadway in London and I had Adalai in the car with me. I was stuck in the slow lane and wanted to pass the person in front of me. Suddenly, my car started to smell like it was smoking. I slowed down and tried to figure out what might be wrong with my car. A few seconds later, the truck in the fast lane that I would have been behind, lost the large metal sheet it had been carrying. If I had moved from the slow lane, that metal sheet would have been in my windshield. After seeing the metal sheet go flying and I passed safely in the slow lane, my car stopped smelling smoky. I completely believe that God saved my life and the life of my child that day.