A Strange Anniversary

7 years ago today...

I hopped into my small red truck and started to head home after a late night Activities Committee meeting at church, not knowing that a life-changing event was about to take place. It was dark and cold, and the roads were wet. It must have rained while I was in my meeting. I took the Leavesly Road entrance onto 101, and as I was curving around the bend up to the highway, I felt a strange stab of fear and an undeniable urge to pray. The words of my friend Graham’s closing prayer came to my mind and I immediately prayed that Heavenly Father would see me safely home. Ten seconds later, I lost control of my truck. To this day, I don’t know exactly what happened but I assume that as I was accelerating onto the highway, the truck hit a patch of oily water and the back wheels started moving around. I didn't know what to do, I started to panic, it was happening so incredibly fast. I tried to correct myself but didn't remember the slightest thing from driver’s training and all of a sudden there I was, facing the opposite direction on a cold, black, empty highway, my truck and I plunging over the side of the highway, most certainly to my death. I had the strangest feelings during those few seconds. My heart prayed to Heavenly Father, pleading with him that I wasn't ready to go yet, but at the same time almost accepting that it was the end. A feeling of peace came over me during those few seconds as I was tumbling, rolling, to the ground below, a feeling that I cannot fully comprehend or explain. I felt that there was someone else in the car with me and I let go of the wheel, letting the other person – the angel, the Spirit, my imagination, whatever – take control. And when those few excruciatingly long seconds were over, my truck had landed right side up on a small grassy area next to another entrance to the highway.

The rest of the story is very long, but suffice it to say that I'm not exaggerating when I say this was a life-changing experience for me. I was extremely blessed to have no major injuries from the accident and to have wonderful CHP officers, firemen, paramedics, and even one stranger to take care of me. Besides being a huge wake-up call, the accident also strengthened my faith and helped me to realize that there were things I was still supposed to do with my life. Now I'm not a brain surgeon or a teacher or a Nobel Prize winner, but I am a wife and a mother. That is why I am here. In these times it might not be popular to be proud of being "just" a wife and a mom, but I am. And every time I reflect on my accident, I am so thankful that I was given another day, another chance to do better and to become the wife and mom that I've become. And even when I'm changing diapers or settling emotional disputes over Polly Pockets, I wouldn't have it any other way.