Looking at what was left of my wife’s car, it was hard to believe
she was standing next to me virtually unscathed. The hit and
run DUI had surgically removed the front of her car as she was returning
from a night out with her friends last Saturday. Three Christmas’s
ago, the two of us were driving to Sierra Vista, Christmas day, 1:00 in the
afternoon when a 350 pound buck decided to jump thru our windshield. We
were on I-10 doing 75 (ok, 80). The antlers of the deer were at our
feet, INSIDE the car, and the roof had been relocated 3 feet rearward by
the time it was all over. We both walked away…and she just walked
away from this one. Just lucky?
Sunday morning, after the accident last weekend, I sent an e-mail (with a picture of the wrecked car) and talked about Cindy’s walk with Christ and her ministry to her dance community that she has become a part of over the last few years. The week prior to the accident was literally filled with a series of events that were answers to prayers, as several of her friends took steps into the Kingdom of God. I spoke of our conversation that night and, tongue in cheek, our willingness to sacrifice a Toyota Corolla every day if it meant one more person could know Jesus. We were both in our normal Sunday morning church service a few short hours after the accident and it was an especially joy filled time of worship, celebrating the miracles we had been experiencing all week, including the protection and grace given to Cindy Saturday night.
The responses to the e-mail were mostly extremely encouraging, heart warming and affirming. One in particular, from my great friend David over at Teen Challenge, suggested we name our ministry “Corolla’s for Christ” (both wrecked cars were Toyota Corollas). I’m still smiling at that one!
I guess one of the most dramatic aspects about the whole thing was the clearly polarized responses to my e-mail. Most celebrated with us, but for some it evoked a reaction of fear and trepidation…clearly an event that de-stabilized their tenuous state of “happiness”. I always find it amazing how some people can take any situation and immediately make it all about them! In this case, they basically go to a worse case scenario (what if there were serious injury, or worse) and then react to how it would impact them…IF it had happened!!
But then again, when your life is primarily fear/self-preservation driven, the reaction is not only predictable, there really aren’t a lot of other options! The last few months I’ve been writing my columns on various aspects of the fear driven life (I thought the final installment was last month, but evidently not). If this kind of event really rocks your world, there is a good chance that you have settled for some insufficient framework of life, or as I talked about in my last column, stopped short in your spiritual pursuit. It is my prayer, that if this is you, that you will find the courage to start looking again. Don’t give up…your eternal life depends on it.
Mike Hoppe is one of the Associate Pastors at Casas Church, is a graduate business school instructor, and still actively works with companies to develop their organizations after 15 years in management with a Fortune 100 company. Mike can be reached at mikeh@casaschurch.org or www.casastv.com
© 2008 Good News Tucson™
