He knows us far better than we know ourselves…That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives…is worked into something good. (Romans 8:28)

Three years ago today, my family had one of those “perfect storm” days.  My sister-in-law lost her battle with cancer at her home while we were there with her.  Though it was not unexpected, it still left her family members crushed.  She was one tough and remarkable women, who spent much of her last years being a caregiver to others in her family.

I was there at the end and was exhausted.  So my family sent me home to get some rest.  The trip should have been from Westminster to Otter River and should have lasted no more than 15 minutes.  When my wife went home some time later, she found me missing.  As she worriedly tried to find someone who might know where I was,  she received a phone call from a friend on the Winchendon police force telling her that I had had an accident on Gardner Road in Winchendon.

Most of the events that happened that night were told to me by my wife and others because I have no memory of anything that happened from the time I left my sister-in-law’s house until three days later after her funeral.  I have no idea how I ended up on the road to Winchendon or how I ended up going off the left-hand side of the road, bouncing over a ditch and hitting a tree head-on.

So, what happened?  It turns out the year of my Chevy Impala had a recall for the ignition unit because the weight of the key fob could cause it to shut the car off cutting out the power steering and the power brakes.  Did that cause me to go off the road?  Who knows.  Then when I hit the tree, the driver side airbag didn’t inflate causing me to do a face-plant into the steering wheel.  Later when I was tested for the injuries I had, they found that I had had some sort of seizure.  It’s uncertain whether the seizure could have caused the accident or whether the accident could have caused the seizure.  Talk about a “perfect storm”…

But I said all that to say this…it could have been worse.  Despite everything that happened, I believe that God had His hand on me.  I could have died or had crippling injuries, but I didn’t.  I could have died from an epileptic seizure, but I didn’t.  I’m sure the accident was scary and painful, but I don’t remember any of it.  And today I’m at least as healthy as I was before the accident.  I don’t think that was a coincidence.  “So, I am not saying this because I am in need, because I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (Philippians 4:11)