GOD HAS OTHER PLANS

The boys and I are on Spring Break and we decided to visit my mother-in-law and stay with her at her cabin in the mountains and go skiing at the local hill.   My husband couldn’t go up with us because he was working so the boys and I were on our own.   We haven’t skied in a year and a half and it felt good being back up on the mountain top breathing in the good mountain air.  It was an interesting experience to watch the boys as they are constantly changing as they get older.  Matthew, my youngest, was always a fearless skier.  He has been scaring the crap out of me since he’s been five years old – no regard for fear just goes.  Brendan on the other hand was always a little timid and very cautious skier.  This trip proved to be different, Matthew was a little nervous and Brendan just took off.  We had fun and even though the boys can go now ski on their own we all skied together.  Thought I would have lots of time in the evening to finish reading the book I’m reading but I was so tired every night  after a day of skiing I was in bed early and sleeping.  Amazing what mountain air and down time can do for your sleep! We left the cabin yesterday morning by 9:00 am as Matthew was playing in a hockey tournament at 2:00 in the afternoon.  Typical me as I was packing up I was making  a  mental checklist in my head as to what I was going to do when I got home.  I gathered we would be home by 11:30 am and I would get some laundry done, get everything unpacked and away, finish dusting the house, go to my son’s hockey game, get dinner, and back out for another hockey game that evening.  The thing with planning is that you think you can control everything until something big comes along and you realize you have absolutely no control over your planning and for that matter your destiny!  As I said we left the cabin at 9:00 am, stopped at the local station for gas and started down the highway.  It snowed heavily the night before but the roads were good and seemed clear.  Just a few kilometres down the road I noticed the highway was compact snow but everything felt good and I didn’t think much of it.  I had slowed down to at least 40 kilometres under the speed limit just to be cautious because of the compact snow, you never know.  We were heading around a corner when this feeling came over me.  I’m not sure how to explain it because it was like a voice in my head told me that everything would be ok but something bad was going to happen.  Just then either my tire on the driver’s side hit something or I hit ice I’m not sure but the car started to swerve left into the oncoming lane.  I released the gas and made sure I didn’t touch the brakes as I tried to gently guide the car away from the oncoming traffic lane.  The car then started gliding to the right and then veered to the left again.  I was very calm and each time the car veered in a different direction I went with the flow and gently guided the car back.  The car seemed to be straightening out and I remember thinking, “all is ok” when all of a sudden it veered to the right, hit the snow bank and flipped up and over.  The car ended up lying on its side, the driver’s side, with the front of the car facing the highway and we were trapped.  I quickly checked to see if the kids were all right and they were fine.  Matthew’s eyes were as big as saucers but he was ok.  I didn’t want to freak them out but sitting at the bottom of the car looking up into the sky I couldn’t tell where we were, I figured we were off the road but I wasn’t sure.  I also wasn’t sure if behind us was a big drop down a ridge.  Brendan started kicking the door and saying mom we can’t get out.  I was still very calm and I turned off the car, unlocked the door and calmly told Brendan to undo his seat belt, carefully drop out of his seat and stand on the ridge of my chair, push open the door and look outside to see where we were sitting.  Are we on the road? Is there a big drop behind us?   He  pushed the door open, looked out and said we are off the road.   I thought thank God because all I need is for us to survive this wreck only to be hit by an oncoming car.  We all got out and I took a look around and saw that there was not a big drop behind us but there was a slope and a water filled ditch, we landed in the perfect spot.   I then checked on the boys again and Matthew was shaking from head to toe and I asked him if he was cold, he said “no mom I’m very scared.”  Brendan who insists on wearing shorts everywhere we go and just before we left I told him that he should be wearing something warmer as you never know if we get stuck because of car failure or an accident.  Spoken like a true mom here he was in his shorts, sweat top and van runners standing in knee deep snow.  Also spoken like a true mother I said “I told you to put on warmer clothes.”  I saw that  a trucker had gone by us and was in the process of backing down the hill to assist us.  Just then a woman drove by going the opposite direction and said she would put a call in to get us assistance.  The trucker by this point couldn’t back the truck up anymore and started  walking down the hill to get to us.  The woman picked him up and drove him down.  God was with me, I knew for sure, because  I had warning, I knew we were going to have an accident and as the car was sliding something or somebody kept telling me to be calm and all would be well. Even as the car was flipping over I was calm and I was sure all would be well.  There were hardly any cars on the highway and somehow two very nice people were there within minutes of the crash helping me.  We were five kilometres from the ski resort so the woman drove us to the resort and from there I was able to call a tow truck and get something to eat while we were waiting.  My mother-in-law came to meet us and spoken like a true mother she barked at me ” I told you not to leave the cabin early, I told you to leave later, do you know how bloody lucky you are?”  Of course she had just driven by the accident and saw the car lying on its side and she was upset.  My mother-in-law doesn’t show emotion very often and when she yells at me in tense situations I know it’s her way of showing how scared and how much she loves us.  I just gave her a hug and said “I know Nonna you were right, for now on I’m always listening to you!”  The tow truck driver came in a very big truck and we all got to ride to the scene of the accident and watch the car pulled out of the embankment.  Interesting as I’m not sure how the car ended up driver’s side down and the front of the car facing the highway because the direction we were driving it made more sense for the car to land on the opposite side and facing the opposite direction.  Matthew was sitting in the back passenger side and I noticed when the car was pulled upright – the back driver’s side window was blown out.  If we landed on the opposite side Matthew would have taken most of the blunt force.    The tow truck driver drove us all the way to Hope where we met Drew at Tim Horton’s,  ate lunch and counted our blessings.  I didn’t get my housework done, nor did Matthew make his afternoon game but we were able to make his 8:00 pm game where he played the best I’ve seen him play scoring two goals and several assists.  The car – well it’s trashed and I don’t care.  The car can be replaced, my family can’t.  As much as I know you can’t control life and that God has other plans – I speak like a true human as I will most likely continue to plan my days and my life only to be re-directed at any given moment.  I thank God for his direction yesterday and for the angel and angels he sent my way.