"Daad, I'm hanging upside do-owwnnn"

About a month ago my daughter Megan and I were going to the Edventure Children's  Museum here in Columbia, SC to see the New Curious George exhibit.

On the way, we were involved in an accident that left our car on it's passenger side and glass everywhere.

It happened so fast, I didn't even see the Jeep coming. When our car stopped moving it somehow was up on the sidewalk between a light pole and it's guideline -not touching either one. Megan is always strapped in her booster seat in the middle of the backseat of the car.  I looked back as much as my locked-down seatbelt would let me and I expected to see her hurt.

I asked "Megan are you okay?!"

     She answered in her wannabe teenager voice, "Daad, I'm hanging upside do - owwnn." Not upset at all, not yelling, screaming, or even crying.

I looked past her head and saw that the back windshield was somehow shattered away from the car and the beachball we keep in the car to play with at the park was wedged between the side of her headrest and the back passenger-side window that remained intact. Within seconds, a lady appeared at the back windshield and asked if she could help Megan out of the car. I asked her if there was any glass that could cut Megan on the way out and the lady said that it was all gone.

So I told Megan it was okay to go with the lady and I would be right out. I stretched back under my seatbelt to push her release button on her booster seat and Megan went out with the lady.

By that time about 3 guys had opened my driver's door that was up in the air (since we landed on the passsenger side) and pulled me out of the car. I ran to the other side of the car to find Megan was in the arms of the same lady as calm as a cucumber. I picked Megan up and checked her over to find she didn't have a scratch, lump, or mark on her. I kept cheking her scalp all over her head to make sure I did not see any glass or cuts - not believing that we had escaped this accident without any injuries. 

I called my wife and explained we had been in a car acident.

After I checked Megan out, an EMT who goes to our church arrived and checked Megan out again. When she had thoroughly examined us she said, "I don't see anything wrong with either of you."  About that time my wife arrived (the accident happened within 3 minutes of our home) and was crying when she saw the car on it's side,  expecting to see us badly injured (even though I had told her on the phone we were okay). She picked up Megan and hugged her tight then began checking her over from head to toe just like the EMT and I did.

Megan said , "Mommy why are you crying?"

    My wife said, " Because after I saw how  the car was wrecked I expected you to be hurt very bad."

 

Megan just calmly replied in her best DUH voice, "God takes care of us - of course we are okay." As if she never doubted that God would keep us from harm.

The EMT, cops, and firefighters on the scene said that we would be very sore the next day and to expect some deep bruises where our seatbelts had caught us; however,  Megan and I have had no soreness or bruising at all.

The lady who helped Megan out of the car turned out to be my Mother-In-Law's Pastor's wife who lives across the street from the accident site. She told my Mother-In-law the folllowing week that when she had helped Megan out of the car,  Megan hugged her tight and asked in a normal voice, "Will you take care of me until my Daddy gets out of the car?"

The Pastor's Wife said that it truly was a Miracle that we came out of that accident without a scratch -especially since a lady who was involved in an accident at that same intersection the month before died at the scene.

How awesome is it for a 5 year old to know and have complete trust that God takes care of us even during a car accident?!! 

Megan asked me recently before we prayed one night, "I know God takes care of us, but why did he let us get into an accident?"

     I answered, "Only God knows for sure, but maybe it was so everyone there after the accident could see that God kept us from getting hurt when we should have been hurt very bad -or maybe it was so that they could see how calm you were because you knew that God takes care of us."

As we all know, God never promised us that we would never be hurt; however, it is so cool that the only way some things can be explained is that God stepped in - otherwise there would have been a different result.

Since that day over a month ago, whenever I start to worry or get upset over something in this business or at home, I remember the Faith of a 5 year old -  Megan - God's, my wife's, and my daughter.