Facing Oncoming Traffic

"I was lying down in the van.  When I looked up, I saw oncoming traffic," my son explained.

In a snow storm, we were traveling on I-70 West, five miles west of Wheeling.  A twelve year old, twelve passenger van with rear wheel drive, no ABS, and no traction control can be a challenge.  The left lane was better then the right; most of the lane was clear with lots of pavement for the tires.  We approached the top of a hill and the road was covered with snow.  The pavement was gone.
The van wiggle.  I let off of the gas and gently corrected for the wiggle.  The van did not want to be corrected and wiggled some more.  Knowing the worst thing I could do is over-correct, I gently corrected the wheel.  Still, no control.  We are sliding left into the concrete wall.  To avoid wall, I must steer harder to the right; although, I know it is risky.  "Keep calm," I tell myself.  The back end begins to slide further left.  If I turn left, I don't think I can get the van back under control.  There are no cars nearby.  The road is wider, made even wider with an on-ramp to the right.  We need to stop.  I turn the wheel farther to the right, hoping I can make the van spin and come to a stop on the road.  The van spins.  I have been braking lightly.  As the van passes 180°, I step hard on the brake, hoping to stop as we complete a 360.  A pick-up is heading toward us on the ramp, but he sees us and stops.  As we complete a 300° spin, the van stops.

Everyone is quiet.  We are safe.  The van is fine.  The engine stalled.  The van starts back up and we drive aware slowly, thanking God for safety.

I am very guilty of taking God for granted, especially His care for the mundane things in life, like safe traveling.  In my head, I know that traveling is dangerous and we need to rely on God for everything.  While we drive a lot (numerous trips to Ohio, Illinois, etc), I have never been in a serious accident.  So, I fail to truly appeciate the danger of driving and my need for God to safely deliver us to our destination.

I hope that this spinning adventure will permanently remind me to truly pray for all things and rely on Him for everything, even mundane things in life that I have done thousands of times.  I hope my adventure will remind you as well.  I don't want God to spin you into oncoming traffic so you will see Him.