Grand Attempt . . . Near Miss . . .

A Grand Attempt

The day starts calmly enough. We hitch the trailer to the truck and drive 70 miles to meet with a friend to spend the day snow machining. But . . . when we arrive at our destination, the keys to the machines are back at the house.

We all laugh at this discovery and then set to concocting an alternate plan for the day. We drive to the Tug for Taco Tuesday and chat and play music on the juke box and watch, from the warmth, as the snow falls on the other side of the window.

Driving southbound on the Glenn Highway toward home, a vehicle speeds past in the lane to our left. At maybe a distance of four or so car lengths ahead of us, the truck starts to fishtail on the ice . . . and then slide directly in front of us. It crosses our lane, goes airborne, spins around and flashes its headlights through our windshield, flips onto its side and throws snow and metal sparks up into the air as it skids across the lane to our right. It continues down an embankment and stops at the bottom where it lays on its side.

With hearts pounding, we pull to the side of the highway, call 911 and go to check on the driver. Pieces of the truck lay strewn atop of the snow. A tow truck pulls over and offers to assist. The driver of the truck climbs out of his window, wraps up in a sleeping bag to protect himself against the 12 degree temperature and stands silent in the aftermath. His dog appears dazed but unharmed. The police arrive and when we are no longer needed, we drive off into the dark - on high alert and adrenaline still surging.

With what could have been certain death or dismemberment had we collided head on with this truck, my mind cannot fathom the full extent of the peril we narrowly escaped. Even days later, it all still feels so surreal.

Later, the night of the accident, in the quiet of my thoughts, some of the lyrics to a song I’ve not listened to in many years came to my mind:
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“God only knows the times my life was threatened just today.
A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way.
Near misses all around me, accidents unknown,
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home.
But I know they're all around me all day and through the night.
When the enemy is closing in, I know sometimes they fight
To keep my feet from falling, I'll never turn away.
If you're asking what's protecting me, then you're gonna hear me say: Got His angels watching over me, every move I make, Angles watching over me!”

I pull the song up online and as I listen to “Angels” preformed by Amy Grant, tears fall as I thank God for divine protection and sweet grace.

A Near Miss - February 1, 2022