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I almost lost my best friend last week.  What happened to her is so frightening, you will not believe it.  I’m going to tell you the story, in case this ever happens to you.

We had tentatively planned to meet up on Wednesday, but I never followed up because I went shopping instead.  So on Saturday, I phoned her and mentioned that I was sorry I hadn’t called about that day.  That’s when she tells me, “I was in an accident on Wednesday.”  She hesitated to tell me the details, because she knows that’s one of my biggest fears; but I dragged it out of her anyway.

She was driving a newly-purchased used car, an ‘89 Lincoln Navigator.  She was on the freeway when the car suddenly started to accelerate like crazy, for no apparent reason. Cruise control was not on; it wasn’t that.  The brakes hardly did anything.  She took an off ramp hoping it would slow the car down; it did to some extent, but not enough.  The light was red when she got to the intersection and she rolled right through, turning right.  Thankfully, there were no other cars around. 

The car began to pick up speed again as it moved downhill toward a gas station.  Beyond the station were large, icy boulders and a drop off.  She was in unfamiliar territory and she had a split second to decide: Do I head toward the boulders and probably roll the car down an embankment?  Or do I find an inanimate object to stop me?  She chose the object: the car wash building at the gas station.  (I’ll have to update this later with an actual picture, as it hasn’t been developed yet.  But imagine one of those free-standing car wash buildings, only with a big hole in its side.) 

Only later did she find out there was another solution:  turn off the ignition.  It seems that the men in her life knew this fact: her dad, father-in-law, and husband.  I did not know that was an option.  After discussing this with my husband, he suggested putting the car in neutral and moving the key back toward Accessory.  This would keep the steering wheel from locking up.  Of course, you would still have to wait for the car to slow down.  We’re going to practice it at some point, just in case.  So I’m throwing this out there to the blogosphere.  Would you ladies have known what to do?  Ask your husbands about it and get back to me here.

So that fact that she is still with us today and not hurt, I would have to categorize as yet another Christmas miracle.  For me personally, it’s an early gift from the Father above.  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!  What an awesome gift!