Oops…

So this morning on the way to work, I found myself in a pretty stupid smash-up.  Tired and with slow response time, I didn’t anticipate the car in front of me stopping as quickly as it did, and ended up clipping the corner of his bumper.  Blargh.

Everyone was fine, which I am very appreciative for.  The driver was at a dead stop; I was probably going 15 MPH when we struck.  The driver was a really nice young guy, Nicholas, who was on his way to school with two friends.  I feel badly for making him late and for missing a geology test, although if he was anything like I was when I was his age, he probably didn’t mind having extra time to study.

As you can see, it smashed up the side of my car and part of my hood enough to be messy.  Nicholas had an older, super-hearty Jeep and the only noticeable damage was to the left corner of his rear bumper – it got a little bent up and mashy, but nothing more.  I am very thankful that I did not cause damage to his rear body or quarter panel in any way, as I am sure that it would have been much more costly.

An officer was driving by at the time and stopped to assist which, rightfully so, resulted in me getting a ticket for following too closely.  He said that he could have also given me a larger fine for reckless driving, but was kind enough to not do so.  He was very polite, understanding and generous in giving me a break (especially since I wasn’t able to give the car a good brake).

Anyway, it’s a tough lesson to learn to keep your eyes fixed on the road at all times, to not keep anything on your seat that will fly off and make you try to catch it when you slam on your brakes, and to always thank God for the times you safely make it to and from your destination.

Life is like that… sometimes you have small situational crack-ups and sometimes they are more extreme. But, like the officer today who showed me some grace in light of my obvious failure, God is always there to show an even bigger grace.  And like the body shop that is going to repair the damage and make it like new, so will God who takes your damage, all of it, and spiritually makes you completely new.

I will still have reminders of the accident long after the car is fixed, but I have the choice to reflect upon them with negativity and disdain, or to be thankful that it wasn’t worse and that it was able to be made new.  I am humbly thankful for a loving father who doesn’t raise my premiums when I have an accident but instead gave me the ultimate insurance policy through the gift of his son.  Am I in good hands?  You bet.