I did not plan to start my day out so differently than usual.
But it did just the same!

I was enjoying my quiet morning drive into work, listening to music on the Family Life Network and daydreaming.

And then I hit the deer.  Or rather, the deer hit me. 

The poor beast ran right into my front quarter panel.  I just have this vivid image of a deer face right in front of mine.  The poor, dumb thing.

I confess that my immediate angst was related to the cost of losing a car.  While it may only be worth a few thousand to an insurance company it is worth volumes to us.   I reached into my work bag only half expecting to find my Tracfone.  It is rarely with me and even more rarely charged.  It WAS there and the battery status revealed one out of three bars.  I quickly called John.  Then I quickly called work.  Then I thought about calling 911. 

I am here to say that the Brighton Fire Chief’s car was there in about two minutes.  Oddly, he parked at the bottom of the ramp near the bridge I was parked on [490 west over 31F] and climbed UP the steep embankment.  All I could think of when I saw them coming up was, “I bet there are snakes in there!!”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived about three minutes later.  I guess I should not be surprised that he knew exactly what he was doing and made everything as smooth as can be.  But still, I was pretty impressed with how smoothly everything is dealt with after an accident like that.

As I sat in the car waiting for John to show up and while the deputy did his paper work I started to tear up and get a little upset.   We do not need the stress of a broken car.  But thankfully, I switched gears and recognized the blessings. I was alive!!! The air bag did not go off!!! The windshield did not break!!! And like the widow’s oil my cell phone stayed alive for all three necessary calls! That last one may not impress others, but I am just amazed by that.  Oh, and the fact that I even HAD the cell phone with me?  That is huge!  THANK YOU, GOD!

After John arrived I got out of the car to assess the damage.  I had to crawl into the middle row of seats and out the slider as the front driver’s door wouldn’t open and I was too close to the shoulder to exit out the passenger side.  As we surveyed the damaged I said, “I’m going to faint.”  It was worse than I imagined from the safety of the inside of the car!  Blood and fur and the hood was mangled.  *sigh*  The poor animal. 

We headed home where I dropped John off and I got to work 65 minutes late.  God also blessed me with warm and helpful co-workers for the day.  THANK YOU, GOD!

I have no idea what is going to come of the car.  I am praying and praying that the insurance company deems it is fixable.  It is a 2003 Ford Windstar.  We own it free and clear and have since we bought it in 2006.  It is a great car!  Please pray with me.

But I was also praying to God in the car that I know He can work all things for good and He DID just that with the car-tastrophe of 2010 – click here for a reminder!

I’ll keep you posted!