My wife and I spent New Years eve with a couple from our small group (ringing in the New Year playing card games – I’d rather do that than go to a noisy party full of people I don’t really know any day…) Somehow, we got on the topic of the car accidents we had been in, and each of us had a pretty good story to share (The reason for this was that I was briefly called away from our gathering to help push a student’s car of the road after it just decided to stop driving - when I got back, we naturally began swapping stories about past car problems and accidents )
Just a few months ago, I had my first car accident (not too shabby for having been driving 10 years and maintaining a spotless driving record – I still do by the way… I needed to wedge that factoid in there in case any of our youth parents read this and wonder) My brand-new (at least for me, cause it was a 2004) half-ton truck was totalled as another driver in an SUV failed to notice their stop sign (personally, I think she was texting – maybe playing Angry Birds…?) and plowed into my door, bending my truck in a funny U-shape and pushing me, and the highschool student I was driving, sideways across the intersection. Gratefully, no-one was injured. In fact, I’m pretty sure the student I had been driving thought it was a pretty cool experience – I remember him saying, “in an accident with the youth pastor, check!” as he made a check mark motion with his hand. (Yeah, I wasn’t worried if he was hurt…)
My wife and our friends each shared their own experiences of similar mishaps – despite the damage, cost, and magnitude of each story, the main theme that united our stories was the evaluation of each accident. My friend shared that he once totalled his Dad’s car and remembered fearing the wrath of an angry Father yet to arrive at the scene. My wife shared a similar story. I also remember phoning the Father of the student whom I was driving wondering, “what is his response going to be?” We feel so guilty when things go wrong, and often shirk away from anyone capable of passing judgement. In every story, Dad arrived on scene, found their child and asked the same, single, question; “are you okay?” Not, “how’s my car?” “What did you do?” “Who is at fault?” “Are you stupid!?” Just simply, “are you okay?” I hope no parent would ever react any other way… (who cares that I had a truck anyway? Insurance bought me a nicer vehicle – passing, fleeting, replaceable…)
I think sometimes we fear our Heavenly Father in the same way when we make a mess of the life he has given us. “What have you done?” “Who is at fault?” As we shared these stories, I couldn’t help but picture our Heavenly Father as one to swoop down into the accident scenes we call our lives, surrounded by the shattered glass, twisted metal, and destruction to simply ask, “are you okay?” I cannot see God placing much value on what is passing and fleeting, but giving his fullest grace and value on what has eternal worth… you, me.
