July 10, 2010

The Lady in the White Car.

Warning:  This is a graphic read.
     Adam and I were pulling into our apartment complex tonight when we saw it. Adam saw it, I heard it.  Two cars collided, one while screeching on its side after tumbling throught the air.  As Adam screamed, I looked to see the aftermath of a horrible accident.  We both jumped out of the car, running to the scene; me, with my cell phone dialing 911.  A semi-elderly couple were climbing out of the chrystler clutching various cuts and possible broken bones.  I told the 911 operator our location, what the cars looked like, and what I had (hadn't) seen. She asked "Does it look like there is anyone trapped inside?"  I looked toward the car accident and saw a picture that haunts me.  A small river of blood ran down the street toward my feet.  "Yes.  Someone is trapped inside",  Adam was walking away from that river with tears in his eyes.  The events that followed, the sights I saw, I cannot share here.  What I will share is that the lady in the white car didn't make it.  She was alive when she passed Adam and I driving down the street an hour ago, but she isn't alive right now.
    I am changed.  I keep thinking about this young woman that I don't know, will never know.  Who was she?  Are there children who are motherless now?  A husband who lost his love?  Will someone be called on Monday and told that she won't be at work?  More important than any of that right now is where is she now? 
     I walked into our living room and sat on the couch quietly.  I was going to get on Facebook, then maybe go swimming, drink a soda.  None of that even mattered anymore.  Where was this woman spending eternity?  That is what mattered.  And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.  She was totally gone.  The chance to tell her about the saving power of Jesus Christ was in the past now.  Her decision had already been made.  What a crater there is in my heart.  My gut has been wrenched.  See here's the kicker:  today, I spent 5 hours sitting in front of Albertson's Grocery store, the hub of my little town.  There is a greater-than-normal chance that I saw this woman today.  I might have looked in her eyes, shook her hand, even watched her walk in the far entrance of the store in order to avoid the rowdy teenagers selling baked goods in front of the store.  That's not what gets me, what gets me is that IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I SAW HER TODAY.  I told no one I saw about the eternal security of my Saviour.  "God bless you" did not save anyone's life today.  The brownies we sold had a greater chance of giving someone food poisening than it did give someone a chance at hope.  I was focused on my day, my responsibilities, not my real mission.  As someone who knows the TRUTH, I must be aware of my surroundings.  God, don't let me miss an oppurtunity.
     Lady in the white car, I'm praying for those who loved you.





"How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone."  - James 4:14