meetings about my "sinking house" saga - just what everyone wants to do on a day off (sarcasm intended). Over half way into the journey I noticed that a strong frost had developed and as I drove past Lake Whakamaru there was an "ice" sign on the side of the road. I responded by slowing down a little, but on rounding a corner I found myself on ice and the car sliding all over the road. I braked and tried to correct the sliding but after a scary skate along the road the car spun out of control and crashed into a raised ditch at the side of the road.
In some ways we could say "it was just an accident", but in other ways I believe that we can see God's hand in and around the circumstances of this accident. Let me share a few reasons I think this with you:
- My heavy, late model car did a great job of keeping stability and allowing the car to slow down before it inevitably crashed...a different car may not have handled nearly as well and probably would have gone off the road a lot earlier at a much higher speed.
- There was a bank down to the lake on my right hand side and a very high cliff-face on my left when the car started sliding. I ended up on top of the only area with a small raised ditch - far preferable to a cliff-face or lake!
- My mum told me that she felt concerned for me at the time of the accident and "knew something was wrong". She started to pray for me on the spot - how awesome is that!?
- I am safe and unharmed (if not a little rattled).
It's difficult to know how I might see things if the result were different (scary thought)...but the fact is that they weren't this time, and I can see God in the circumstances and worship Him for his care and protection of me. Can we worship God in every circumstance? Can we honour him even amidst sinking houses and smashed up cars? Yes we can...and we will!
Blessings
Pastor David Auty