I Should Have Been Killed... TWICE!

“Angels are the unseen attendants of the children of God; they carry us in their hands and keep us from calamity. Loyalty to their Lord leads them to take a deep interest in the children of His love; they rejoice over the return of the prodigal to his father’s house below, and they welcome the arrival of the believer to the King’s palace above.” – C.H. Spurgeon

At least twice in my life, I should have died in a car accident.

The first time was in the winter of 1980, when I was a senior in college. I was driving to work on a cold winter’s morning, running a bit late, and hit a patch of ice as I rounded a bend in the road. That quickly, I lost complete control of the car (my dad’s station wagon) and crossed over into the other lane of traffic before spinning back onto my side of the road and crashing into a large oak tree. The impact, as the driver’s side door came in contact with the tree, threw me across the front seat.

When the police arrived, the officer took one look at the car and a second look at me and said, “You should have been killed.” He was right. The oak tree had smashed the driver’s side door well past the steering wheel and had I been wearing a seat belt (they weren’t mandatory until 1996, and I wear them religiously now), I would have been pinned in place. Instead, the impact knocked me three feet to my right… and out of harm’s way.

However, I am convinced that it wasn’t just the lack of a seat belt that saved my life that winter morning, it was one of God’s angels who was assigned to keep me safe and sound. You see, the Bible says that God has a perfect plan for our life (Jeremiah 29:11), that our days are numbered by Him before we are even born (Psalm 39:4), and that He will fulfill His purpose for our lives (Philippians 1:6).

My second car accident happened just a year later, only this time I was sitting in the passenger seat of a VW Beetle. My best friend John was driving and as we came down an overpass at about 45 mph, a car pulled out in front of us trying to make a left-hand turn. There was no avoiding the other vehicle, and we struck it full force on the driver’s side. Neither John nor I was injured, which was a miracle because the VW “Bug” was totaled. I’m guessing that John had an angel watching over him that day too, because I had the privilege of leading him to saving faith in Jesus Christ about 30 years later… shortly before God called him home after a long battle with colon cancer.

When it’s your time, it’s your time… and when it’s not, it’s not. And sometimes, the difference is made by the angels God sends to protect us along the way.

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President