I was heading down to pick up my friend Monica at the airport last Thursday. It had been raining most the morning as I was driving down I-25. I was a little bit late because I spent part of the morning trying to find a large piece of paper that I could write her name down on like you see in the movies when famous people get picked up at airports by limousine drivers. I couldn’t find one so I needed to leave.
My car kinda blows in most weather conditions and fogs up like a group of horny co-ed teenagers that got into my car after hitting the hot tub. Sorry for the analogy I hope people continue to read my blog post this coming year.
Anywho, I was going abot 70mph driving in the left lane when I decided the right lane looked better for whatever reason. As I am changing lanes my car starts to spin. Now, sad but true, my initial reaction might have normally been a swear word or two. On this occasion however the first thing I thought of was…
A) I am going to flip my car and this is going to hurt!
Followed by gripping my steering wheel tightly thinking in my head…
B) Lord I pray that I would not be injured too badly!
I spun off the highway and continued to spin what felt to be another full rotation until coming to a stop in muddy grass about 50 ft. from the road. From where I started spinning to where I ended up might have been about 75 yards. I got out of the car to check out the damage. Lots of mud and not a scratch. I was fine and my car was fine. I had missed the guard rail by about 5ft which might have rapped my car around it at that speed and had come short of falling into the 15 ft. ditch behind me by about another 25 ft.
I tried freeing myself from the grass/mud pit I found myself in for about twenty minutes ultil calling my buddy Pres to pull me out. A cop came and told me I was lucky, followed by a firetruck that we waved on because I was fine.
My sister called during this time unaware that I just took a six flags ride off the highway to inform me she had changed my ring tone for when I call to M.I.A. paper planes. A guilty pleasure band of mine some might say. I told her what happened and her first repsonse was. “Well jeese Nathan, God must really want you to go on this World Race thing.”
I then called one of my best buds Sam to tell him my new story and left a message relaying that I was fine.
His repsonse took a different approach than my sister as he proceeded to laugh, followed by. ‘You’re Invincible! Its impossible to kill you Salley. HAHA.” And yes Patrick & BK, I think that counts as a cancer joke.
I made it to the airport an hour later and pulled up in my 1991 Honda Accord two-door that looked like I had just driven it through a Subaru Outback commercial. Old laides waiting inside for their rides looking out the window were getting a pretty good kick out of my car as I flashed them the thumbs-up on my new SUV.
I don’t know how much that story has everything to do with God and more to do with my poor driving skills in rainy weather, but I do believe He heard my short prayer. I think I got lucky. I wouldn’t call it a near death experience maybe more like a near broken face experience. Either way I think the Lord was there. I think I could have mangled my car and God still would have been there. I’ve had a lot of near misses in my life, but so is life. I tell this story not to try to make a sermon out of it, but because you have to laugh at life. And thats what I did when I finally came to a stop realizing I was fine. I laughed, and then I drove off.
The end.
Jeff Gordan Nathan Salley Jr.
