3 down... 6 to go...

OK, fast forward to the Fall of 1979. I had just transferred from community college to Maryland University. I had been working most of my college career to pay for my own college. Maryland was a bit more expensive than the local community college, so I had to take out a student loan for tuition, books, that sort of thing… of course. Well, once I got my loan, I headed straight to the local motorcycle shop. “After all”, I tell my mother and father, “it is to commute to and from school.” Only the beginning of a life time of financial foolishness… but alas… that is yet another story.

In the afternoon of a crisp autumn day, I had finished my classes… or at least finished hanging out in the student recreation center… and was on my way home. The ramp to get off of Route 1 and onto the Capitol Beltway merges with yet another merge lane, which itself merges onto the Beltway. As I headed down the ramp, I glanced to my left, saw that traffic was clear, and I merged over into the main merge lane. About a hundred feet or so down the road, I glanced over my left shoulder to see if it was clear to merge onto the Beltway. Much to my surprise, there was a truck barreling down the lane towards me. In an instant, it was obvious to me that he was traveling much faster than I was. I twisted the throttle and stomped on the gear shift to lower the gear. As the motorcycle responded and started to lurch forward, I glanced back again. At this point, all I could see was the huge chrome grill of the truck. It was literally just a couple feet away from me. The impact was severe, like getting hit by a… well… truck. Things seemed to move in a surreal, slow motion. As the back of my motorcycle started to lift and get crushed, I was jarred forward onto the gas tank and between the handlebars. Instinctively, or more likely by providential guidance, I turned my body and grabbed at the grill of the truck. I can only describe it as like being slowly eaten by the truck and the road. The motorcycle and I were being pulled under the truck as it barreled forward. The next thing I knew, I was under the front of the truck, lying face up… on my back… hanging on to the handlebars… staring at the underside of the engine… being dragged down the road. Suddenly, and strangely, the thought occurred to me, “the driver has no idea I am here!” The things that run through your mind at times like these are amazing, if not amusing. I thought “what if all of these sparks cause an explosion?”, “I wonder if I let go if I would clear the rear axle?”, “If I let go and come out the back… will the car behind us crush me or would I have enough time to roll off the road?” Suddenly, the motorcycle slid to the right and got jammed under the right front wheel of the truck. I knew that was it, I was about to die. Just as suddenly, I can only assume, the driver must have realized something was wrong and slammed on the brakes. The motorcycle and I shot out from under the vehicle like a rocket. The motorcycle headed straight down the road and I was veering off towards the side. Remember, that to me, things still seem to be occurring in extreme slow motion. As I shot out from under the truck and was sliding down the side of the Beltway… I notice that I was heading straight for the guardrail. As crazy as it sounds, my only thought was “Oh great, I survived that… just to be sliced and diced by the guardrail!” The guardrail was less than a foot off of the ground. At the angle I was rushing towards it, the posts appeared to me like blades of a vegetable grater. I braced myself for the impact, not knowing what to expect. In the blink of an eye, I was on the other side, sliding down a grassy hill. I did not bounce, did not roll, did not flip… as far as I can tell… I went right through the guardrail. It was as if it lifted for a second to let me pass. I am not saying that’s what happened… I am not saying it’s not. I have no idea. That is just the only way I could describe it.

Miraculously, literally and figuratively, I slid to a stop on the hill. I just sat there for a second, taking in the enormity of what had just happened to me. Then it hit on me, “I hadn’t even made the first payment on this motorcycle! If that driver takes off, I will never have any way of tracking them down.” Yes, this was what popped into my mind, having just survived being run over by a truck. So I jumped up and ran to the top of the hill. Here is where the drama of what had happen could easily be lost. I had just been slammed into, crushed, run over, and dragged down the Capital Beltway! Yet, I got up and ran to the top of the hill. I hadn’t realized it yet, but I was uninjured! Anyway, I could see that the truck had pulled over, so I sat down, leaned against the guardrail, and it all began to sink in.

From this point the story takes two distinctly different paths. The more important and serious one of what had just happened… and why am I still here? The other about how people handle miracles and the almost comical outcome of the unexpected. I will describe the more entertaining finish to this story, and as I do, I hope that the immensity and yet personal nature of our God becomes evident.

As I sat there, leaning against the guardrail, staring out at nothing in particular… I could see a face slowly peeking around the corner of my helmet. It was the driver of the truck, a man who if he was 90… he was 190. I later learned that he had had his license taken away long before this accident. He was legally blind. So there I am, sitting on the ground, leaning against this guardrail, and this very old, legally blind man is slowly peeking around my helmet. With all of the compassion I could muster, which was basically none, I snapped my hand up and grabbed him by the throat. I started screaming, “Are you nuts?!? What in world were you doing man? I haven’t even made my first payment on this bike!” I think I scared him to death. I am grateful he didn’t have a heart attack. I didn’t realize then, but he had thought I was dead! By this time, people who were around us and had seen what had happened were pulling over and were out of their cars. Quite a crowd had started to form. A school bus driver that had pulled over saw the driver and I and got in between the two of us, pulling me away. By this time, a state trooper had also pulled over. I noticed that people were kind of meandering all around looking for something. All of the sudden it dawned on me. They were looking for the victim, looking for body parts, or something… they were looking for me! I walked over to the officer and told him I was the one on the motorcycle. The look on his face was priceless. He looked like he had seen a ghost. He started doing all the paperwork things that needed done… but all he kept repeating, over and over, was “you should be dead.” It wasn’t even like he was talking to anyone. He was walking around, writing stuff down, drawing a map of the accident, and mumbling “you should be dead… you should be dead!”

To make a long story not too much longer… nobody could believe I was the motorcycle rider. It was determined that I was traveling about 45-50 miles an hour and the truck was traveling at least 80 miles per hour. They estimated that once pulled under the truck, I had been dragged down the highway, on my back, at least 172 feet. No, I was not wearing leathers. No, I was not injured in the least… sans the small scratch on my elbow… which we believe came from when I jumped at the driver.

Supernatural strength? Adrenaline? Humph! Why not the loving arms of a caring God? The strong embrace of a angel? A miracle that won’t be understood until I stand before Christ. I guess you had to be there… I was.

As a small, but very funny addendum to this story. Many, many years later, I was pulled over for having a headlight out in my car. The state trooper walked up to the side of my car, started getting out his ticket book and was just starting to ask me for my license and registration when he looked at me, got this puzzled look on his face and said “you should be dead!” Then he went back to his car, got in, and drove away. It was the officer that had been at my motorcycle accident!

[IzzyDust]

WOW!!! Thanks for sharing that, I was thinking of getting a bike when
I move to AZ but I think I'll stick to my SUV instead. :)
Glad your still here, I think god really wants you to spread the word.

[SpaceMarine[92]]

Thats amazing God I doing sooo much for you.

[Mr.Chimpy3.0]

maybe ur going to do something important with Him saving u so much. He must be getting annoyed with u constantly almost dying :lol:

[sconner]

Holy cow!!! I can't wait for the rest of them!!!! :shock:

[Fox_Starwing]

Wow... These kind of stories are what I've been looking for. I am the type of guy who always likes to have a weapon nearby, just in case (call it mild paranoia or military training or a combination of both). I have all kinds of knives, swords, collapsible batons, staffs, and two pistols with mags loaded ready to go. Recently I have been doing some hard thinking about life, death, this Christian struggle against sin... and other stuff. Long story short, after talking to my brother at great length a few nights back, I have decided that I won't try to rely on weapons. There is a verse somewhere in Proverbs about the horse being prepared for the day of battle, but the battle belonging to the lord. Also there is the one about trusting not in horses or chariots, but trusting in God. Using my brother's words, God spoke to me and made his protection seem more real to me. I don't worry nearly as much any more. I realize that if for some strange reason some BG (bad guy) decides to put a gun to my head, and it isn't my time to go, his gun will go click. Or something like that. I realize more and more that God is truly in control of everything. Now, God has also given me a brain, so I will still keep my pistols loaded, but I won't worry about things nearly as much. My life is in God's hands. I will lose not one day to anything. Thanks for these stories that build faith Eternity.

[rg07]

Originally Posted by Fox_Starwing

There is a verse somewhere in Proverbs about the horse being prepared for the day of battle, but the battle belonging to the lord. Also there is the one about trusting not in horses or chariots, but trusting in God.

Proverbs 21:31 - The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.


Thank you so much for sharing Etern1ty, the Lord has great plans for all of us, as I am sure you are aware. He has a special purpose for each and every one of us, and it is life's great joy to discover and use that purpose. There is no movie tricks, or special effects in life, it is all God's divine intervention. Awesome story. I loved the others as well.

[Felix]

AWESOME story. I'm.......speechless





....mostly

[SilverSeraphim]

Wow...just..wow is all I can say. That, and I'm cancelling my plans for a motorcycle..

[Honor24]

That"s amazing!

[Forgiven213]

Reading that story gives me chill bumps. The lord has a plan for you Eternity. I don't know if you are fulfilling it by facilitating this minisitry or if he plans to use you in the future, but you are definitely on his list.

I had a similar experience when I was 16. I had just gotten my license and I thought once again, here it goes, I am really in control of my life now. I can drive. I AM the man. Once again what happens to me when I assume control, I fall flat on my face and only God is there to lift me up. I had just turned 16. My mother asked me to drive the trash down to the dumpsters. For information, I lived in the country on 3 houses on the dirt road I lived on and the dumpsters were 2 miles away. My father was a parts and service director for a big dealership in Savannah. As such, he was allowed to bring a demo car home monthly.

It was a brand new 1986 Isuzu I-Mark. I thought to myself, "Yeah Baby, get to take the car out for a spin." In my youthful zeal and inexperience I get the car going around 80 mph on a dirt road. I am almost to the end of the road where the dumpsters are and hit a small hump in the road where a driveway enters the dirt road. That was it, I lost control. I started fish tailing and the next thing I know I woke up upside down in the passenger seat. No, I was not wearing my seatbelt either.

I woke up, crawled out of the car through the drivers side. The ceiling was crushed down. I could not have sat where the seat was on the drivers side as the roof was crushed almost down to the steering wheel. I crawled out, looked at the car and started crying. All of the tires were blown, one of them off. All ofthe windows were shattered and gone. The drivers side door was torn off and wrapped over the top of the car. The trunk lid was missing. I was crying because I did not know what I was going to tell my dad. I was in shock over the punishment I was going to receive. It never dawned on me until later in life that I had been spared. God intervened in my life and saved me once again. He saved me from myself as he always does.

I ran down the road to the closest house, called my mother and went back to the destroyed car. I heard a car come up on the other side, and all I heard was my mother screaming out my name, yelling for me in sheer terror. I did not even realize the impact of that car even then. She grabbed me, hugged me, cried.

Did I mention, I did not have the first scratch. I was not hurt at all, nothing, not even a bruise.

My dad came home, he did not punish me, he did not yell at me or hit me which was what I feared. He too hugged me, cried, and said I should be dead.

I hit the ditch which had just been drug that day. Instead of passing over the ditch which is what I would have done, if it had not been freshly drug and smashing into a very large pine tree, I flipped end over end 3 times down the road. The car came to rest right side up facing the opposite way I had been going.

People I tell you it gives me chills to this day. God had a plan for me then and God has a plan for me now. It took me 35 years to come to this realization and 35 years to prove to me that I have never been in control.

Praise God guys, he is a peaceful, merciful, and loving God. I should be dead just as Eternity should be, but God still wants to use us, we just have to be available.

Tim

These are the kind of stories people need to hear about. That our God is real and active in our lives. I think your story should be posted in it's own thread for more to see. Would you mind if I moved it to a place that will be visible to the public? It's OK to say no if it is to personal for you...

[Airsoftguru]

Wow i think I just finished the story. *looks around room and sees cobwebs all over* (JK) Nice story.

[Forgiven213]

Originally Posted by etern1ty

These are the kind of stories people need to hear about. That our God is real and active in our lives. I think your story should be posted in it's own thread for more to see. Would you mind if I moved it to a place that will be visible to the public? It's OK to say no if it is to personal for you...

It is only personal in a way that it was me that was saved, physically at the time and spiritually much later. Feel free to move it to a public realm. If only one person learns from my mistakes and learns about what God has done for me in my lfe and it changes their life, then God has used my experience to bring glory to himself and bring his word to one who might need it.

Be available. It is hard for God to use us if we are not available.

[Peebs701]

Wow, I am with the officer you should be dead E, praise God you are not. It is such a wonder full feeling to know that God watches out for us and protects us so fiercely.

[pillbox1234567]

these stories just completely overwhelm me...we serve an AWESOME God...i'm not very good at putting my thoughts into words...i'm more amazed every day

[Warrior4Christ]

Thats.....amazing.