Drive With Care

Consider these numbers... 26,000: That's approximately how many miles I drive each year for my  commute. 273,000: About how many I've clocked since I started working in Iola 10 1/2 years ago.

It's scary sometimes when I think of the prevalence of auto accidents, I am certainly upping my odds, aren't I? (Yes, I am knocking on wood as I type.)

Now consider those numbers again... but multiply them by 5, 10, maybe 20. That's the serious tracks made by truck drivers, who don't have the luxury of "working from home" when it's snowy, icy or foggy. When it's time to hit the road, they gotta hit the road.

My dad was a truck driver. I got the thrill of riding with him on one of his day trips. He did get in a few accidents over the years, but we were safe that day.

My twin sister's husband is currently a truck driver. He often says he sees some scary stuff while out on the road. And by scary that includes his fair share of wicked accident scenes. Today, Steve was a part of one.

Thank the Lord he is OK but it could have been so much worse. He was traveling on an icy interstate in Indiana, where they had some 5-8 inches of snow overnight. Traffic was stopped and semis were trying to stop. He had just about got himself safely situated when he was rear-ended – by another semi! Ouch. Somehow, despite serious vehicle damage, my brother-in-law is OK. Sore but not too badly injured. Hopefully nothing serious presents itself in coming days.

It sure was a wake-up call to us all how fragile life can be. How things can change in an instant. It can be frightening if we let it.

For me, I just make sure I drive carefully, probably "grandma" slowly in winter – and I never leave the house without kissing my guys goodbye (just in case). I trust God to watch over me and keep me safe on the road – and hope it's His will, not mine, that is making that happen.

Thankfully, today His will was to watch over Steve. And you, too, if you got home safely and can read this!

Amen to that.