God is good. We hear that saying so often. We hear it so much that it becomes commonplace. But what if God is so good to us that we forget this basic truth or take for granted his goodness.
A simple scripture reminds us of God’s goodness, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8 ESV).
Something happened recently to my husband and me that renewed my faith in God’s goodness.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I had just left a marriage counseling session. It was dark out, a week night around 6:30. We were driving separate cars because my husband, JD, had come straight from work to meet me at the counseling appointment. I wasn’t feeling God’s goodness right then. I was angry, frustrated and feeling kind of hopeless about struggles in our family.
No more than a minute of driving home had gone by when I see my husband standing in the middle of the busy highway 17. I see his truck parked off on the side of the street. I immediately pull off behind him and quickly realize that he has been involved in an accident. The back and right side of his brand new white truck was smashed in. A street sign was down too.
A teenager, traveling about 55 miles per hour, had hit my husband from behind and didn’t even brake before he hit my husband’s truck. The young man’s car was smoking profusely, and the front of his sedan was completely smashed in.
My husband helped the teenager out of his car and safely to the side of the street. The situation was very dangerous as the smashed car was black in color and was not easily seen in the dark. There were no lights working on the smashed vehicle. It was sitting in the middle lane of an extremely busy highway like a lame duck.
So, here’s where the miracle of God’s goodness comes in… The teenager was in shock but was perfectly okay. He had no injuries at all. He kept saying, “I don’t know what happened. I didn’t even see him.” I tried my best to calm him and remind him of how blessed he was to be uninjured.
In all of this commotion, people had stopped to help. One young man stepped out of his car to offer a first aid kit. Another car had stopped to help block and reroute traffic away from the accident.
And there was another man who seemingly came out of nowhere. He was dressed like a homeless man and had few teeth. He spoke coarsely, but he completely took control of the situation and got debris out of the road. I didn’t see where he came from. And when he left, he didn’t get into a car. He just vanished into the night. I still get goosebumps when I think about him and his kind act.
He just might have been an angel sent straight from heaven. He was certainly an angel on earth to Jd and me.
All of this happened before the police or rescue had arrived.
God convicted each one of those people’s hearts to have them stop what they were doing to help us. They didn’t feel inconvenienced. They wanted to stop to help. And no doubt, these kind acts glorified God.
If someone had been injured in the wreck, the first aid kit would have helped someone. The car who stopped to block traffic kept another accident from happening. And the seemingly homeless man who came and went into the night orchestrated the whole cleanup and rerouting of traffic.
No one had to stop, but they did. I believe with ALL of my heart that it was God’s nudging and God’s goodness that sent those people to us that night. He kept us all safe. And for that, I am truly grateful and reminded of God’s goodness, grace and second chances.
And finally, I left the wreckage site that night feeling so grateful that my husband was okay. I forgot about the anger I had felt minutes earlier from our counseling session. That anger had turned to gratefulness that no one had been injured that night. After all cars are replaceable, people are not.
God surely has a way of teaching us lessons, if we let Him. I hope you are moved to see God’s goodness in your life too.
Many Blessings,
AllisonD
allisond.com
