Overtaking Gone Wrong

One lunch time, I needed to go to the Post Office to collect an important parcel. Since I only had an hour to get there and back, I found myself driving in a hurry. I was stuck behind a lorry who was going ever so slow. I checked ahead and saw that the road was nice, long, and straight. Nothing was coming the other way, so I decided to overtake.

As I was overtaking the lorry, it became apparent to me that the lorry was double the length that I thought it was, which meant that I needed more road and more time to overtake it. The straight road ahead started to bend sharply right. I was, by now, 3/4 through the overtaking process. I thought I could just about make it, if nothing came around that corner!

Of course, as soon as I thought that, a huge lorry appeared. It was coming towards me.

I couldn't abort my overtaking as it would have taken me longer to break, to slow down enough, to get behind the lorry I was overtaking than it would for me to speed up and try to get in front of it. I had to decide quickly which choice to take. It was a risk to speed up and to try and finish the overtaking, but that was what I decided to do.

As I sped up, the oncoming lorry got closer and closer to me at which point I realise that I may not make it after all. Death was staring at me in the face. I knew that if I hit the oncoming lorry, it would be fatal; I would be crushed and I would not survive.

I screamed out to God and said, "Lord Jesus, if this is my time to go, then so be it, but let me end up with You". I gave myself to Him, and closed my eyes because I didn't want the lorry to be the last thing I see before I die.

A Second Chance

I kept waiting for the noise of the crash, but it didn't come. I thought maybe I'd missed it because I had died? I opened my eyes, and to my surprise I found myself in front of the lorry I was overtaking. The other (oncoming) lorry zoomed right past me, with horn fully blown. I looked at my hands, they were still on the steering wheel; I looked down at my feet, they were still there, shaking like a leaf. What just happened, Lord?

I realised that I was still driving, so I tried to gain control of the car and continued driving with my shaky legs, in a state of shock. I pulled over at the earliest opportunity, prayed and thanked the Lord Jesus that He had saved me. Then I felt a peace come over me, and the Lord Jesus saying that I had made a silly decision to overtake, but that He saved me because He still has plans for me.

I began to be more thoughtful about life, about what it meant, and what my purpose was on earth. I felt a renewing of my mind taking place.

When I got home at the end of that day, my husband greeted me. He kissed me like usual and asked how my day was. I just smiled and said that it was OK, but in my heart, a voice whispered, "It could have been a different day! He could have not been kissing you, but could have been crying his eyes out, devastated at your death with unrecognisable body". I cherished his greeting and his kisses so much more than I would have normally, and I thanked the Lord Jesus again for saving me.

Life is Short!

The following weekend, I went to church as normal, listened to a sermon. To my surprise, the sermon opening told a story of how a Christian family got killed in a lorry crash. The pastor talked about how precious time is, and how we need to keep renewing our mind spiritually because we only have a finite amount of physical time on this earth. This really spoke to me, and I knew God was in that sermon, giving me this message. So, I took it all on board.

I couldn't tell my husband the encounter I had with the two lorries. I was afraid of upsetting him. However, three months later, I was inspired to tell the story to the whole church. It was then that my husband heard it for the first time. He was shocked at the realisation that he was so close to losing me.

You may have heard it said, "Life is short, so make the most of it!" But I tell you the truth, the only way to make the most of life is to live for the Lord Jesus, live for His purpose because it is only then that you will find the true meaning of life!

© Elma Larsen. All rights reserved.