This story happened last year, when there was snow on the ground and the roads were slippery. My parents own their own store, and ever since I got my driver’s license, they have sent me on errands so they can stay and watch the store.

One day, I was to go to Dowagiac (which is about 25 minutes away from where I was) to deliver something to another store owner. I was expecting to pick up some boxes after my errand was finished, so I took my dad’s truck because the boxes wouldn’t fit in my car.

I started the truck and set out on my way to Dowagiac. Mind you, the roads were very slippery, and it was snowing very hard. I didn’t know how slippery the roads were, so I was going the speed limit, which was about 55 miles per hour.

Everything was going fine until I was about half way to my destination. I was about four yards behind the car in front of me when the car started to slow down. Like the good driver I am, I stepped on the brakes (because that’s what usually slows down the vehicle). Unfortunately, the truck didn’t stop.

The truck started sliding toward the vehicle in front of me, so I turned the steering wheel to the right to avoid rear-ending the car in front of me. I started fishtailing down the road, sliding to the left and the right. As I fishtailed down the road, I slid into the oncoming traffic lane, straight toward an SUV that was heading my way.

Head-on into the SUV

At this point, I was so scared; I couldn’t even talk. I do remember saying in my mind, “God…I could use some help with this one.” I was sure I was going to run head-on into the SUV.

God had other plans for me, thankfully, and gave the driver of the SUV the reaction to steer to the left side of the road. I ended up just clipping the rear fender of the SUV. I also ended up on the side of the road instead of in the middle when I was swerving.

As I looked around and checked myself to make sure I was okay, I sank down in the back of my seat and laughed a little bit. I said to myself, “Ha, devil! You missed me!”

Despite all the things that had just happened, I was fine. The driver of the SUV was fine, and nobody else was outside to get hurt.

This whole situation made the protection that God gives real to me. Anyone can say some things in an article, and anyone else can read it. But, until you need God’s protection, it may not seem real. Trust me, it is.

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By Andrew Baker. Reprinted with permission from the Lake Union Herald, December 2006. Copyright © 2007 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.