Saturday, August 07, 2010

7 AUG 10: Back From the Brink



(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)



"I will never use cruise control again." So said a local pastor, as he returned to the pulpit after a scary car crash. Rolling over two-and-a-half times might be routine on the floor of some Pentecostal churches, but not in this one....



Pastor Ken Martin admitted he still has some soreness, three weeks after his wreck on U.S. 80 near the Muscogee-Talbot County line. The pastor shudders to think what might have happened had his wife and a grandchild traveled with him, on the Sabbath circuit between Macon and Columbus. It's yet another reason to be thankful for grandchildren - they can keep grandparents out of trouble.



It was an emotional service last weekend, as Pastor Ken Martin choked up while recalling his crash. He says his GMC Jimmy's cruise control was set on 65 miles per hour. But when he drifted into the "rumble strip" on the shoulder of the highway, the Jimmy suddenly jerked sideways and went airborne. Hmmmm - do they read this blog at Atlanta Motor Speedway?



"My life flashed before my eyes," Ken Martin said as he remembered the wreck which left him upside down and across the highway. Yet he was able to get out of the Jimmy - kicking open the door on the third try, with what he considers an "angelic assist." I tend to believe that more than soccer kicker Diego Maradona's "hand of God" goal years ago.



As officers removed items from the scene of the crash, one concern for Pastor Ken Martin was his Bible. It was a gift from his parents, and he says he's used it for 50 years. Sadly, there probably are some Gideon Bibles which have sat untouched in motel room drawers for that long....



Ken Martin's old Bible appeared to survive the crash unscathed. And while the pastor still is in some pain, he's thankful to have survived as well. He says God "gave me back my life," while Satan wanted him "terminated" on U.S. 80. Keep that in mind, next time you're driving on a rural highway. One small slip could spark a spiritual version of Georgia Championship Wrestling.



Psalm 32 in the Pastor's Bible (and probably in yours) says God should be your hiding place. King David went on to write, "You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." It wouldn't hurt to ask God for that protection the next time you're going on the road - and it costs a lot less than car insurance.



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