♪ Jesus Take the Wheel...

   I've spent lots and lots of time on the road lately. Haven't had a vacation for ten years...and then three in a matter of two months.
   My sister and I tooled around New Mexico in August, hitting a Rick Springfield concert with a horde of other middle-aged groupies,  a baseball game, an Indian pueblo, a drive to the Sandia mountains, and out to the Boca Negra petroglyphs -- putting more than a few miles under her wheels. The weather was good but summer traffic heavy -- yet blessedly we had no travel troubles.
    Early this month my bestest Jonathan touched down in Dallas, fresh from Gaghanistan, and the whole first day home he wanted to drive ( IN DALLAS ) where "no one was shooting at them". Living in Kabul for the past four years trained him well for the Madness of the Metroplex, and he navigated through Dallas-Grapevine-Fort Worth like a pro! We then sallied forth across the prairie and into southern Oklahoma, and back, to visit with my tribe. From the Texas State Fair to Whiskey Flats and everywhere in between, we had travel angels.
    Parnelli Jon scooped me up from the Tucson airport two weeks ago, and we headed through Yuma and on into Southern California to visit the folks. The rolling hills of Oceanside and San Diego offered no challenge...and we meandered up the valley to the Inland Empire, skittering back and forth through Riverside for a few days, on to Yucaipa and the Apple country, and then back through the desert to Arizona and Tucson where I headed for home. Only for one split-second did a skittering tractor-trailer raise our blood pressure... but that passed without incident as well. My oldest, Rand-all, made a five-hour round trip to bring me home from Dallas, where I'd so very recently spent lots of time.
    Getting back into routine saw me at play rehearsal and choir practice last night, and back to church today to try on costumes for JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolrDreamcoat... when, in the rain, on an incline to the elevated portion of our expressway, I changed lanes to avoid a neck-and-neck oncoming car, and hydroplaned in the draining downhill streams.
   I've fishtailed before.
  This was a whaletail.
   I knew after two seconds I was in trouble.
   My front left bumper thonked hard and scraped on the median, slinging me around in my seat. I was in Big Trouble.
   Spinning out and hitting the rear left made my blood run cold. I didn't want to slam the brakes and roll, so I tried to Steer Into the Skid. Nope. Still slipping as if on ice, I careened off to the right, and the concrete barrier loomed. I thought three things simultaneously: I am going to die after I flip over the wall and down to the street below; Really? I survived cancer to go out like this? and OH JESUS!
   The neck-and-neck-driver had stopped in horror, and mercifully there was no oncoming traffic until after I had bounced a couple of times, and they had come to a stop half a mile back.
   Somehow my truck came to a gentle stop after I kept my eyes open to see what falling over an overpass would look like. I sat there for a moment on the side of the road, and it occurred to me that my vehicle was still running. I gently stepped on the gas. It rolled ahead.
   Not wanting to spend another second on the edge of a bridge-structure, I drove downhill to a gas station, where I got out unscathed and waited for a police report and a tow truck. I think my angels hung around for a while and sent one of my neighbors to give me a hug and a lift home.
    It occurred to me earlier this week what a joy it is traveling with my Jonathan, who stashed vacation funds for months for our trip, arranged all the accommodations, and did all the driving. It gave me a glimpse of what God is like. God has it all planned out for us and we just have to get in the car and drive. To be sure, NO, Jonathan is not God. Remotely saint-like in thoughtfulness and kindness, a Jedi knight maybe -- but definitely not a deity -- although he is a remarkable man.
   However, God has our lives written out in advance: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" Jeremiah 1:4, and so being with such a careful and loving planner gave me a greater understanding of trust and faith and comfort in safe hands.

Yesterday Carrie Underwood's song came to life...
She didn't even have time to cry
She was so scared
She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel

I  called out, "I'M GONNA DIE" and then waited for that to happen... and somehow, after thudding mightily into that concrete wall, my truck mysteriously parked itself along the side of the road -- and I drove away unharmed.

It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder  
 And the car came to a stop

It occurred to me today what a joy it is traveling with God. Even as I went hurtling towards the edge of an overpass and knew that I would probably not live much longer, I knew He was there.

IF I had gone over, He would have been there...but since I didn't, I know I still have Stuff To Do, and just as I trust Jonathan at the wheel when we are on the road, I have a much greater comprehension of God guiding me on The Road.

Jesus, take the wheel...