Day 17: Thanks for What God Hasn't Done

What I remember is everything whipping and spinning around and my shrieking, "I'm sorry, Dad! Dad, I'm so sorry!" and Dad saying in a somewhat quieter tone, "It's okay, honey. It's okay."

We were on the Deerfoot Trail a few kilometres north of Calgary, driving in Josephine to a funeral at High River. We were in the centre lane of a three-lane stretch when an SUV came off a ramp onto Deerfoot. But instead of stopping in the right lane, he kept barreling over without having seen us until he was going to hit us if we didn't move.

I wrenched the wheel to the left to stay out of his way. Josephine, however, requires a much lighter touch than did Jezebel, and as a result we lurched far too far to the left. I foolishly jerked the wheel to the right while simultaneously slamming on the brakes.

Big mistake. We were all over Deerfoot Trail, ricocheting from one side to the other. All I could do was hang ono to the wheel for dear life and say sorry to Dad.

Someone was listening in addition to Dad, however. With one final pirouette, Josephine came to a smoking halt, facing south on the highway running north. A couple of cars blazed by, but then a big white duelly stopped, putting on his hazard lights. The car on either side of him did the same and we were able to point Josephine in the right direction and carry on to High River without any further incident.

The only damage, if you can call it that, was a few drops of my coffee spattered on the passenger's side dashboard.

David Smith spoke on Thanksgiving Sunday about what God has NOT done for us. He hasn't treated us as we deserve in that He has shown us mercy and grace instead of justice.

I felt that mercy and grace on Friday: Deerfoot Trail always has traffic during the day, but He did not permit ANY cars on the section of Deerfoot Trail where we were spinning out of control; He didn't let the car flip over, as both Dad and I thought we would; He keept Dad's heart and lungs from being affected by the awful scare; He ensured that the road was not icy or wet; Josephine did not get damaged at all.

How good God is - truly! During this month of Thanksgiving, I am overwhelmingly grateful for what He does for me ... and for what He does not do.