In the Blink of an Eye

Every other Monday I drive around forty-five minutes to my hometown and buy a couple thousand crickets and some mice—as one does. They make great snacks…for my reptiles and amphibians. Often, I visit my mom or swing by my uncle’s sign shop when I am in town. This past Monday I opted to visit with my mom and stepdad. That minor course correction on my out-and-back routine may have saved my life.

As I was making my way home the highway got chaotic. Cars were slowing to one lane. Out of my periphery, I saw first responders and civilian vehicles from the southbound lane pulling into the median and running across to the northbound lane. Cars filtered forward for a few minutes moving us closer to whatever was slowing our progress. Then everything stopped. I was within six or eight car lengths from where traffic was halted.

State troopers, county sheriffs, local fire departments, ambulances, and other first responders bristled onto the scene. They rode in the grass along the highway to get close and offer help. It was still hard to see exactly what the commotion was all about. I could make out a small single-cab truck sitting off the edge of the highway facing the wood line but the fire trucks obstructed further view.

I was parked on the normally busy interstate for over an hour and a half. We’re in the middle of a brutal heatwave. The ninety-plus-degree summer heat radiated off the blacktop making my truck’s air conditioner useless—I can only imagine how the fire department felt in their turnout gear. The first few minutes there had to be twenty people focused on the only vehicle I could see; it looked like they had to use the jaws of life to get someone out. It didn’t look good.

Around the one-hour mark, people began to get restless. A guy in a purple Mustang drove in the grass along the row of stopped vehicles parking himself closer to the mele. Exiting his car, the shirtless gentleman in cut-off jean shorts bebopped his way half a mile up the line. He needed to see what the fuss was about. Seemingly satisfied he ran back to his dogged-out Ford and decided enough was enough. He pulled across the grassy median and went south. Later, an army recruiter in uniform made his way up the line. After recognizing the OIF campaign ribbon on my truck’s back glass, he stopped and chatted with me for a few minutes. When he finished speaking with the sheriff further up the line, he returned and gave me a report.

Someone had allegedly driven from the southbound lane into the northbound lane hitting at least one vehicle head-on. There were at least three vehicles involved in the wreck and as per the staff sergeant’s report, there were likely at least two people critically injured and possibly killed. It was a bad situation. I have still found zero information about this accident on the local news to verify any of those claims. It was a wild scene, nonetheless.

This was in the middle of the afternoon on a bright sunny day and in a relatively tame part of the highway. Meaning, this event was completely unexpected. In the blink of an eye, all those people’s lives were changed forever. There was no warning. I sat with that sobering thought for the rest of the day. Had I left my mom’s house five minutes earlier I could have been in that accident. A slight alteration on my timeline could have changed my life drastically. Death and disaster can happen that quickly. That puts things in perspective. Are the worries of today that important in the grand scheme? If I had died that day would my life matter, would I have left an impact on anyone or anything? I hope so. That heaviness sat with me for the days that followed.

Our lives can end in an instant. We have to make our time here count. For some, like me, this puts eternity and faith into perspective. I’ve heard many evangelists ask, “If you died today do you know where you’d spend eternity?” Despite my shortcomings, I hope to one day see those pearly gates. I’m thankful grace outweighs my faults. I said a silent prayer for those involved and was glad so many good people were willing and able to help in the moment of crisis for those unsuspecting motorists. I’ve often heard the sentiment from Mr. Rogers that when things are bad, look for the helpers. I was thankful we had so many good people responding. Life is precious, don’t waste it because you never know when it’ll end.