Dear Family of St John’s
One of the things I enjoy about Facebook is that it pops up your memories from previous years. If you’re anything like me, this is very helpful – my memory is awful. And, most of the posts bring a smile, make me laugh, and remind me of good experiences.
Well, this week Facebook reminded me of an incident four years ago that was not pleasant. It’s one I was ‘lucky’ to walk away from.
I was on sabbatical and had taken a road trip up to Senekal in the Free State to visit with my dad for a week. My brother, Michael, had accompanied me. We’d had a fabulous time. Michael has a particular fondness for milkshakes, and I’d created a bit of a social media following for him and all his milkshakes over our week away.
On the way back to PE we stopped for coffee (that was for me – no milkshakes for Michael!) with former parishioners who were living near the Gariep Dam. So, we weren’t on the main road, but coming back on the R390 (Venterstad, Steynsburg, Hofmeyr then Cradock) and then onto the N10 again.
It’s a route I’d driven before with my husband and really enjoyed – no trucks! But, cellphone signal was a little dodgy in places, with stretches of no signal.
Anyway, at about 1pm between Venterstad and Steynsburg, a kudu jumped out of nowhere and collided with our car. In the split second that I saw it, I was able to register that at least it wasn’t an adult male but seemed to be juvenile. The kudu connected with the passenger side, flipped up and hit the passenger windscreen and flew over the roof of the car.
I’m sure you can imagine that the shock was huge! We were on quite a narrow stretch of road, so had to keep going until there was somewhere to pull over. I drove another 10km until it was safe to pull over. And, in that spot was another vehicle pulled over ahead of us. I had no cell signal. But, they were with a different service provider and had signal.
I could phone my husband, fill him in, and move Michael out of the front seat and into the back away from the glass. The other couple had a roll of duct tape with them so that I could tape the side mirror to the car, and secure the rearview mirror so that it didn’t dangle or swing while I drove.
And, just that small interaction with another couple calmed my nerves enough to keep going. By the time I got to Steynsburg, my husband and I had decided I would keep going, one town at a time until I felt I had to stop. There weren’t too many options for immediate assistance, and the driver’s side of the widescreen had visibility. In hindsight I’m not sure I’d make the same decision.
And so, we limped back to PE at 60km/hr. I had to wear sunglasses the whole way to protect my eyes from any wind debris through the section of windscreen that had a hole. We made it back home just before sunset – after which the sunglasses would have proved difficult!
Only then did I begin to comprehend just how ‘lucky’ we had been.
If I had been travelling in my little car, and not my husband’s bigger vehicle, it could have ended differently. If the kudu had been bigger, hit in a different spot, if I’d been travelling faster… it could have ended differently. If we hadn’t met that couple who calmed me down, tied up the car with duct tape, I might have been a wobbling mess and unable to drive. If I hadn’t had Michael with me and known that I needed to keep him calm and reassured, I might have been even wobblier. It all could have ended so differently.
Every time I get in the car to go somewhere, whether it’s to the shops or on a road trip, I pray for God’s protection. I’ve done this ever since I started driving. I do it even if I’m the passenger. And, I believe God has heard all those prayers over the years. I have been in three car accidents (including this incident) where it can be considered ‘lucky’ that I survived. This is the only incident where I was the driver.
But, it had nothing to do with ‘luck’, only God’s protection. I had such a strong sense of being surrounded by God and His protection when this accident happened. And, even more so when I had time to think through all the possibilities. That sense was so strong I could almost picture the ‘angel armies’ around Michael and me. I continue to carry that image.
If you were in church this past Sunday at the 9h30 service, you would have heard all the testimonies about incidents where God brought the right person to the right place at just the right time. God puts in our path people to help us, He surrounds us with His protection more often than we realise or acknowledge.
As we go about our days, it’s easy to put moments like these down to coincidence or ‘luck’, but the truth is that “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:8). His protection is not just for the big, dramatic moments – it’s present in the everyday, often unseen until we look back and realise just how He has been at work.
May we learn to recognise His hand in our lives, to give thanks for His provision, and to trust Him with every journey, knowing we are never beyond His care.
With love, your friend and rector,
Claire