This post was written almost a year ago after a terrible car accident.  In re-reading this post, I realized that this truth still applies to my life today.  Praying you too can see your good father at work in your life today. 

A couple of months ago, I was given an opportunity to go back to work one day a week as a PT working with kids.  All of the therapy occurs within the child’s home so that requires me to drive to and from downtown Indianapolis.  A few weeks ago, I was driving to a client’s home and as I was trying to exit onto 465,  I merged into the lane on my right completely missing the large SUV that was next to me.  The pictures below show the result of my mistake.

We ended up sliding across three lanes of traffic and slamming into the median.  By God’s grace there were only two cars involved in the accident.  As you can see, my van was totaled but myself and the other driver walked away from the accident with a few relatively minor bumps and bruises.

As the days and weeks have passed after the accident, I can’t seem to shake the imprint left on my heart and mind.  As I am driving or even just riding in a car, I am constantly replaying the crash in my head.  I remember the moment right before my van was hit and I can remember the confusion that ensued as my van slid to the left and subsequently smashed into the concrete median.  Needless to say this accident has left me in a stupor full of anxiety and fear, especially when driving on the highway.

The morning of the accident, I felt God impressing his love and grace on my heart. I was reminded that He is my good shepherd and he has gone ahead of me and prepared the way for me.  I was reminded of his constant presence in my life no matter what I do or where I go.  Minutes before the accident I remember hearing Chris Tomlin’s song, Good Good Father on the radio and I was reminded that God is my “good, good father – it’s who he is” .  (If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend listening to it below.)

The first day or two after the accident, I remember being so thankful for God’s provision and safety.  I was in awe of His love and grace that allowed me to live and walk away from a potentially fatal accident.  I would love to stop this post here and tell you that I remained thankful as the days passed but unfortunately my heart has not stayed grateful.

As the days passed, my body became less sore but remained bruised and shaken. As I was trying to move on from the accident, my injuries were constant reminders of the trauma I had just experienced.  And so I started wondering why God let it happen in the first place and I started to doubt the goodness and sovereignty of God in this circumstance.

But after my accident, I turned to the Scriptures and my heart was encouraged.  In Joshua 1:1-9, God encourages Joshua 3 times to “Be strong and courageous” when he summons Joshua to lead the Israelites into the promised land.  In verse 9, He clarifies:

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

God knew that Joshua would likely be afraid of the task ahead but He didn’t promise Joshua that nothing bad would happen.  He instead promised that He would be with Him wherever He went.  Following God doesn’t ensure that we will have a carefree life without struggle.  But as a follower of God, we can cling to the promise that He will be with us in everything. God, the creator of the universe, goes ahead of us and prepares the way for us and provides enough grace to sustain us moment by moment.

In the past few weeks I have had to wrestle with the reality that I can’t control my circumstances and I can’t guarantee something bad won’t happen to me.  All I can do is learn from my mistakes, and trust that in whatever happens, my good father will be with me…and that is enough.