“What?” My brain struggled to process it.

“Your husband has just been in a wreck.” The man on the phone repeated.

My heart raced as my brain struggled to grasp this new reality I had just been thrust into.

“Have you called 911?” I was terrified that Tim might be injured and in pain. If so, then he desperately needed help. After the man reassured me that he had called 911, I thanked him and hung up. At that point, my priority was getting to Tim.

I was at work when I received that call. One of my coworkers was kind enough to drive me to the location of the wreck. Thank God for that since I was in no shape to drive. Who knows, I may have had an accident myself.

As we drove, I continually prayed. The fear and dread were crushing mentally and physically.

My brain began to function again and I realized I didn’t ask the man who called if Tim was injured and if so, how bad. And I had just assumed he was still alive. At that point, it felt as if a giant hand was crushing my heart. I had to know something, so I took a chance and dialed Tim’s cell phone. I didn’t breathe until he answered.

“Thank God you’re okay!” I blurted out. The unseen hand released its grip on my heart.

I told him I loved him and was on my way.

When we reached the wreck, the state trooper informed us Tim been taken by ambulance to UT Hospital. He also told me the injuries were non-life threatening.

As my friend and I drove to UT, all kinds of nasty scenarios went through my mind. I was relieved that he was alive, but non-life threatening injuries could be anything, such as a crushed pelvis. In that case, he would need major surgery and months of physical therapy. Other injuries could require the same. And he would be out of work a while and so would I.

I decided not to dwell on it. None of my fear and worrying would change a thing. God knew what had happened and what was going to happen. It was all in His hands.

My friend let me out at the Emergency Room entrance and I tried to remain calm and not run to the front desk. They gave me a badge and directed me to his room.

It was so disorienting to be walking down that long hallway in the ER. I wasn’t dizzy, rather, I felt as if
I was in a bad dream. My senses didn’t even want to function as usual. Everything around me was muted. I didn’t hear the staff talking and I didn’t notice anything or anybody moving around me. I only focused on the door to Tim’s room, which was at the end of the hallway.

Was he conscious? Would they still be working on him? Were they prepping him for surgery?
My wet palm grasped the door handle. I pushed it open and stepped into the room. There Tim lay on his back and all alone.

I was so relieved not see doctors and nurses working on him. There were no IVs or monitors hooked up to him. The only sign that he had been in a wreck was the neck brace he wore.

“I got here as soon as I could.” When Tim looked up to me, I could see the relief in his eyes. There is just something about having a loved one nearby when you are going through trying times.

“My truck is gone.”

“I don’t care about the truck. We can always get another one, but we can’t get another you.” I patted his face.

Then he proceeded to tell me about how they had to cut him out of his truck. Hearing that was very difficult. I hated the fact that I wasn’t there for him when that happened. And it made me feel sick to even think what he had to go through. To this day, I have to leave the room when he tells others about it.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you this. You’re not going to believe it,” Tim told me.

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 (KJV)

“Do I want to know?” I wasn’t sure how many more surprises I could take that day.

“The guy who called you was in the truck behind me. He was a rescue worker who was off duty.”

I thought that was the surprise. “God placed him there because He knew the wreck would happen and you would need help.” I mean, that is pretty awesome in itself.

“Yes, but that’s not what I was talking about. The guy asked me if I realized my Bible was lying open on my right leg.”

“What? You didn’t put it there?” Again, my brain couldn’t process what I had just heard.

“I have no idea how it got there.” He pointed to a cabinet. “It’s lying over there. When they placed me on the gurney to put me in the ambulance, the guy laid it beside me.”

“Did you happen to see where the Bible was opened to?”

“I have no idea,” he answered.

I’ll admit I was somewhat disappointed. We will never know what profound words were on that page.

But I was more grateful that I still had him and he wasn’t severely injured.

“I guess God was showing you He had His hand on you.” While I totally believed that, I still wanted to know how that happened.

After the last round of X-rays, they released him to go home. All he had were bruises. There weren’t even any broken bones. My cousin and dear friend Lynda had come over to the ER and she drove us back home.

He was very sore the next few days and I took off from work to tend to him. During this time, I could not stop wondering how his Bible ended up on his leg.

Let me also say that this Bible was special to him anyway. A few years earlier, I realized Tim had never had his own Bible. We had always just used one of mine. Since he loved to hunt and be outdoors, I bought him one for Christmas with a camouflage cover. He kept it under the armrest in his truck and would read it before he went into work.

His armrest was to his right and he was hit from the left. Everything that was loose in his truck flew out the passenger door on impact and was strewn across the road. So, how did his Bible fly to the left when everything else went to the right?

The insurance adjuster called and asked us to retrieve the rest of Tim’s things out of what was left of the truck. Tim said he felt like going and he wanted to see his truck one last time. As for me, I dreaded seeing it.

When I saw his mangled truck, I felt nauseated.

“How did I survive this?” Tim stopped walking and covered his mouth with his hand.

Of course, I answered, “God!”

Once I adjusted to what I had seen, I was on a mission. I examined the front part of the cab. It was buckled up in the middle and it leaned toward the left. That was a head scratcher. I still couldn’t understand how his Bible flew left instead of right.

Yes, I knew God had placed it there, but I wanted to know how He did it. A few days later, I came to the realization of how the Bible came to rest on Tim’s right leg.

At the moment of impact, everything in the truck was shoved left, including Tim. During the first second or two, the top of the arm rest stayed down and over his Bible and held it in place.

The top of the armrest didn’t raise up and off the Bible until the middle began to buckle. This caused the Bible to fly straight up in the air. While it was up in the air, Tim was scooted over and underneath it. When it came back down, it landed on his right leg.

And that in itself was miraculous. Think about it. You would think the Bible being thrust up with that much force would fall back so hard that it would hit his leg and bounce or slide off. The Bible had to have come back down with just the prefect amount of force and at the perfect angle to stay open and on his leg. And don’t forget, Tim had to be in just the right spot for this to work. Something only the One in charge of the elements could accomplish.

“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:39 (KJV)

God did something else that only He can do. He took something bad and turned it into something good.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (KJV)

How was it this worked to the good? God used it to show His glory, power, and mercy. Let’s face it, we live in a fallen world and things are going to happen. And when they do, He is always with us. Nothing catches Him by surprise.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 (KJV)