Life in the Fast Lane

Ever get behind a REALLY annoying person on the road? You know, someone going like 10 miles under the speed limit on a road with a double yellow line… a truck that just HAS to pass another truck that’s going one mile per hour slower than the passing truck wants to go… It’s enough to tear your hair out sometimes! Or what about when you make a wrong turn and have to go WAY out of your way… you miss an exit and the next one isn’t for five miles… It’s so easy to get frustrated with yourself for being so stupid.

I’ve gotten a lot better with being patient with these people (and myself) on the road with this simple thought: You never know what God is protecting you from. It could be a speeding ticket, an accident, passing by an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/friend… Or He could be improving your timing so you see someone you need to… You never know.

On Saturday night, I was driving myself and my roommate home from swing dancing, and there were at least three other cars of people we were out with going the same way.

If we had left about 2 minutes earlier, we might have been killed.

You see, a 27-year-old man was driving his SUV 80 mph the wrong way on the freeway and crashed head-on into another car, killing both drivers instantly. 1-3 more cars were involved in the accident.

The first car in our group passed the accident right as people were stopping and getting out of their cars to see if the crash victims were okay. Two of us were stopped about 5 cars back from the accident. We were able to call the other car in our group in enough time to tell them to take a different way home.

As sorrowful as I feel for the families of those who died, it’s a scary thought to know that timing is everything, and the 2 minutes it took me that night to accidentally pass the entrance ramp, turn into a driveway, get back onto the road, and get on the ramp… Might have been the difference between life and death that night.

So next time you literally want to jump out of your car and wring the neck of the guy in front of you… or beat yourself down for going the wrong way… just roll with it and thank God for a few extra minutes and for life, instead.