Do you ever feel like something bad is suppose to happen to you?
I had a couple of close calls on the way to church tonight. First, I'm driving along a residential street with Ewe in the back seat and I see a guy playing with a couple of dogs close to the street. The dogs are chasing and one decides to dart out into the street. I was ready for it to happen but still, after braking (not slamming), I only missed him by a few feet. The second incident happened within two minutes from the first. I pulled off the residential street onto a major street. I was switching lanes because I saw the left hand lane had a few cars waiting to make a left hand turn. The car in front of me was not so forward thinking and tried to switch lanes, but ended up rear-ending the car in front of it. My mind was doing the math (calculating the apparent velocity of the vehicle against the diminishing distance) and I was thinking...that cars going to...yep, it did. The bumper went flying off as I slowed down to a safe (let's see what's going to happen) distance.
At first it felt like something was out to get me. Can I escape this trouble? It missed me the first two times, will it come back.
But then I wonder...I've been reading Blink by Ted Dekker. It's about this guy who develops this gift of seeing alternate futures based on certain actions. It's a thriller, of coarse, and this gift comes in handy as he eludes those who are trying to catch him. He doesn't see the future, but see possible futures that is limited to 3 hour into the future. His possible futures are based on "if I do this action, it will start this chain reaction of events" which will cause enough of a distraction or obstacle for him to escape.
So I wonder...maybe I wasn't being chased down by a troublesome event. Maybe, I was being saved from one. What if I was on a path to be a part of the accident in front of me, but the dog, by running into the street (and me having to break and slow down) altered my coarse slightly that I was able to avoid the wreck by 10 seconds.
Now that's interesting.
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Suddenly I stop But I know it's too late I'm lost in a forest
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- I was once asked to use three words to describe my motto for life. I replied, "Go With the Flow." Is that a joke on me or them?
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16 comments:
sometimes when I'm running late and I'm getting frustrated I remind myself that maybe I'd didn't hear my alarm for a reason, or maybe we had an extra poopy diaper for a reason. Maybe these things will be the extra minutes that make me avoid an accident. Really, I'm just always late, but it makes me feel better to think that way!
Do you love Blink? It is my favorite Ted Dekker because it makes sense to me, the whole predestination question seems much more clear now.
Yes, I am enjoying the book. I am almost done. I think I have about a fifth left.
Do you have more of his books? I would like to read "three" next.
Sounds like a good book! Glad you didn't hit the dog and that you were not in the accident! :)
"God only knows the times my life was threatened just today.
A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way.
Near misses all around me, accidents unknown,
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home.
But I know they're all around me all day and through the night.
When the enemy is closing in, I know sometimes they fight
To keep my feet from falling, I'll never turn away.
If you're asking what's protecting me then you're gonna hear me say:
Got His angels watching over me, every move I make,
Angels watching over me, every step I take,
Angels watching over me...."
-this amy grant flashback moment has been brought to you by the good people at www.overspiritualization.com
I do have three, I haven't read it yet, but I'd be happy to lend it to you. I'm wanting to read the new Dekker/Perretti one that just came out first.
That's a good perspective to have.
When Golden and I came back from Topeka, we were in the right lane of two left-turning lanes at an intersection. The car to the right of me wouldn't turn left quickly enough and almost ran me into the traffic turning from the opposite direction. I was counting my blessings when we saw the same car rear end someone at the next intersection. I think the driver wasn't all there.
I meant the car to the left of me... D'oh!
*angels watching over me...*
thanks Dash, for that 7th grade skating rink flashback.
The Dekker book sounds interesting I haven't tried him. Save those for me or I'll buy them and someone can bring them over sometime.
It's amazing how we miss stuff. Someone explained to me the 8 second gap (or something to that effect) you trace an event back, and back and back. Why'd this happen...well he woke up early, why'd that happen, he fought with his wife...etc all boiling down to 8 seconds making a difference somewhere along the line; we just don't realize it.
On a less intellectual note, Dar and I often wonder while others (or even I) am giving one of those testimonies of I was late and I missed an accident...what about the poor schmutz who was in the accident? Did he miss the distraction meant to keep him from the accident, or did he get one meant for me? If God kept me from it, did He give it to the other guy?
Look at my blog, look at my blog, look at my blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People here like to tell amazing stories of the people who for whatever reason didn't get on the trains that were bombed later at Atoche station. But we never hear the testimonies of those that rode the train on a whim for the last time.
Anything that I can think of to say sounds cheesy, so I won't. Glad you and the little one didn't get in an accident.
Golden, that is funny! Thanks for the honesty and restraint. i have often stopped myself from posting because I thought that anything I'd say would sound cheesy. Now I'll play the cheese card.
Darwin and Roamer,
that is an interesting point about those who were not so lucky. I haven't finished the book, but the main character who has an IQ of 195 (Einsteins was 160?) believes in God (but does not buy into the christian thing), a creator of the universe, but struggles with this belief once he discovers this gift of seeing alternate futures. He struggles because of the idea of an all knowing God may not be so all knowing if he can choose his futures.
He is on this adventure with a muslim girl who he is protecting because she is wanted back in Suadi Arabia. Our main character also has problems with Allah and Islam, but she has faith vs. his factual intelect.
So at one point when the future looked dim, he puts the gods to a test (allah vs. christian god). and one of the God's answers back much to his disbelief.
I just read this last night,... he is amazed at what happened because in all his possible visions of the future he saw things that were reactions caused by man, but during his test he saw something that was not caused by man. Our main character is not a christian, but he realizing the profound effect that prayer has.
And there was also some intellectual discovery of God created time so he exists outside of time. He views time differently than we do, but he exist outside of time and can enter our time too! My eyes got sleepy and I fell asleep.
Dar & Roamer,
I can't agree more. I struggle so much, though, with the areas where I know that God has blessed me. Why doesn't He bless others in that way? Do I have any business giving a "testimony" that essentially rubs others' faces in the fact that things worked out for me?
Forrest,
Someday when I have time, I want to read some of those Dekker novels.
This post reminded me of one of my favorite movies. Run Lola Run. Interesting stuff.
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