He's Not Finished With Me Yet

God is good.

That pretty much sums it up, because if it weren't for Him, for His goodness, I may not be here right now. 


It's been a long, exhausting week of musical preparations, and having come down with a sudden cold, I was ready to just come home and get some rest. I'd been thinking to myself only minutes earlier, you know it's dress rehearsal week when you're driving home (at ten o'clock at night) and you're so tired you put your blinker on to go around a curve.

Just before leaving school after dress rehearsal, I was cautioned by my mom and boyfriend to be careful on the roads. The temps were warmer today, causing quite a bit of snow to melt, but were now approaching freezing, with a lot of melted snow on the roads. 

Only about five minutes away from home, I hit a patch of ice, and my car slid toward the left side of the road, headed right for a fence and some trees. Panicking, I turned the opposite way, and my car spun into a gravel parking lot on the other side of the road. I know a semi usually sits along the edge of this lot, since I drive past it twice a day, and all that went through my mind at this point were thoughts of my brother, who was in the passenger seat, slamming into the semi's trailer. I pump-slammed the brakes, and my car continued to spin in an entire 360 rotation, coming to a stop with my car facing the road. 

Everything was still, and we just sat there. Perfectly fine. No harm done. Safe.

"Thank You, God," my brother sighed, and we looked at each other. I leaned over, hugged him, and kissed the side of his still made-up face. 

I put my hands back on the wheel and repeated "Thank You, Jesus," over and over again. We pulled back out on the road, and I slowly drove the last few miles home.

The whole thing definitely shook me up.The fact that if things had happened differently, if we'd hit the truck, or slammed into a tree, or the people in the church only a couple hundred feet away had been leaving, or if a car had been coming by, or a biker, or someone walking… I may not be here; my brother may not be here; things could be different. 

I am so thankful for God's hand of protection over us tonight.

In the past, when I've seen things like this happen to other people, I've always seen it as God's confirmation that He's not done with them yet. That He could have taken them, but  instead reminds them that He still has plans in store for them. Tonight, I found myself on the other end of the situation, being reminded that God's not finished with me yet. I have no idea what He has up His sleeves, but whatever it is, He's still using me. 

This whole incident also reminded me that every day is a gift and tomorrow isn't guaranteed. So I need to make the most of each day I'm given, and not fret about the future. Life's too short to waste time worrying about frivolous, temporary things; it's too short to hold grudges, to complain, to take anything for granted. 

So my challenge today is this: Tell someone you love them, give someone a hug, say a prayer of thanks, and remember that if you're alive, if you're reading this, God has you here for a reason; He has great plans for you; and He isn't finished with you yet.