A Close Call

I had just walked out of a coffee shop a few blocks away from my office when I got a call that 5 of the guys that were in my youth group and are now in my college group had just been in a car accident on their way out to Colorado for a camping trip. The details at the time were sketchy but it was not sounding good. Immediately one of the parents had put a call out for prayers for these 5 guys as family and friends waited to hear what had happened and how each of them was doing.

I remember thinking about what a tragedy it would be to lose 5 such great guys, young guys that all had promising futures ahead of them. There was another thought I remember that quickly followed that God was not done with any of these guys yet, all of this was followed by a sense of peace that is hard to understand or explain. I obviously had no idea how this would play out and yet I knew that one way or another God was doing His thing.

I am relieved to say that at this point all 5 of them survived their car rolling at least once and possibly twice causing 1 of the guys to be thrown from the car. Aside from bumps and bruises and one concussion none of them suffered any broken bones. If I stop and think about that too long, it blows my mind. The guy that was thrown from the car is, last I heard, in stable condition with bruised lungs, one of them partially collapsed, and plenty of scrapes, bumps, and bruises. He is staying in the ICU to monitor his lungs as well as make sure there was no major internal organ damage. I can't help but think that somehow God was directly involved in this outcome.

Please know that I am not naive enough to think that if you pray, things will always work out like you want or think they should. I believe with all my heart that God wants good things for His creation but I must also admit that my definition or idea of "good" is so limited in its scope or understanding. I must trust that God who is the very form of "good" has a better grasp of what good actually looks like for His creation than you or I ever will. I know we lose loved ones and it hurts, I don't understand why or claim to but I do believe that there is a Savior who's love, mercy and compassion are greater than all of the hurt, doubt and confusion the world may ever know.