Twelve days ago me and my best friend Hannah embarked on a road trip to vacation in Florida. I laughed about how we were going on an adventure, and “who knows what will happen!?”. Just excited to have some time away from the real world, and especially time together as the realization of not seeing her for a year while I’m on the World Race had started sinking in. We needed this time. We needed this trip.
We expected to lay on the beach all day, enjoy the sunshine and salty ocean air, relax, read, laugh, and spend time exploring, as well as time with hannah’s family who live near Fort Meyers. We did all that and more. The more included meeting up with two awesome locals, listening to some incredible music, running around florida, and having sing off battles. My heart for music was reignited during this trip as well as my love of turning strangers into friends. It was a trip to remember.
We headed home on my birthday, while only five minutes away from our hotel in Nashville(our overnight stop on the way back to MI), on this four lane highway, we were in the far right lane, excited and ready to climb in bed, we could see our exit ahead! Little did we know that there was a vehicle in the far left lane who had missed his exit and tried to quickly rush across all four lanes and do an illegal u-turn directly in front of us on this one way highway. One minute I was singing a silly song about our exit and hotel going 65 mph and the next I was screaming hannah’s name, slamming on the breaks, and trying to reach my right arm over her. In my mind I honestly thought we were going to die. We were about to meet Jesus.
The sound, the impact, the feeling and pressure from the airbags, and the burning smell and smoke that filled the car was suffocating. I didn’t know where I was or what had happened for the first minute or so. I didn’t see Hannah and I was yelling her name. She was safe outside the car and told me I needed to get out too. For just a few seconds(I assume from the shock)I didn’t think I could move. But once I realized the car was still on the road and someone might hit us from behind I quickly realized I HAD to get out of there. The airbag had finally gone down and I scrambled out of my seatbelt and outside the passenger door. We were shaken up, achey, and a little bruised. But we were okay. The other driver was okay. Although I was angry, confused, and in shock—I felt in my heart and realized how God had put His loving arms of protection all around us.
It was about a three hour process, waiting for the police, the tow trucks etc. But we finally were dropped off at our hotel by the police. While in the squad car, we heard over the two-way radio, “uhhh…it’s Rebekah’s birthday….the driver.” Just the reminder that it was my 25th birthday made me feel sick inside. What if…
It was a whole other ordeal after the accident. Figuring out how to get back to Michigan and every attempt failing, but finally finding a way home. It wasn’t easy, and it was beyond stressful, but the Father made a way, and I am just so thankful we had each other.
After dropping Hannah off in Grand Rapids, I picked up my car and climbed in the driver’s seat, the drive back across state wasn’t my favorite, I continued to replay everything that happened the night of the accident, and I found myself being very aware of where all the other vehicles were on the road, then this song came on, How He Loves, and it was as though it was whispered directly to my soul.
“When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me. And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don’t have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about the way that He loves us, oh how He loves us so”
