It could have been another story..

We loaded up our belongings and said our goodbyes; it had been a long exhausting but most rewarding week of training for my husband and his horse. Every day was packed full of trust building tasks. We were all inspired and motivated to get back home and put this knowledge to work with the other horses on the ranch. My husband and son pulled out ahead of us with the camper followed by my daughter and myself hauling Blazer. As we drove away, I couldn’t tell if the dark cloud that seemed to hover over me was the sadness of leaving new found friends, the dread of a 4 hour drive home  or was it something more. I decided that it was something more; a feeling of warfare, the call to prayer had been laid on my heart so that’s what I proceeded to do. I thanked God for all he has done in my life and all he was going to do. I prayed for protection as we travel and thanked him in advance for it. I was then prompted to sing praises to my king out of a deep gratitude. I began to sing “Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

Only then did I feel a peace come over me. The peace that stayed with me three hours later as we were struck by a drunk driver, jack knifing the truck and trailer sending us  out of control head on into the guardrail where we proceeded to skid sideways for three hundred or more feet. It happened so fast, there was nothing we could do but hold on. I looked over at my 20 year old daughter who was driving, and for a split second I thought; is this it?, but immediately remembered who was in control of our lives and realized I still had peace.  When the truck came to a complete stop, even though I felt peace, I was still in shock that we were safe. The next few hours revealed just how amazing the hand of God really is. The first vehicle on the scene was a truck pulling a cattle trailer carrying only one heifer. The young couple immediately came to our assistance. I had called my husband who was a half mile ahead and told him about the crash; he stayed on the phone with me as he frantically made his way back to us. His training with large animal rescue kicked in and he guiding us through the crucial steps that have to happen in order to keep the horse safe during the rescue. First was to assess the position of the horse and if possible get him on his feet. The trailer had flipped over on its side laying the horse down on his side but his head still securely tied. Andrea was able to reach the snap on the rope setting him free to stand up revealing there was nothing broken. Within minutes the highway patrol, fire and rescue were there. Just about the time the fireman took the torch to the trailer gate, my husband was there to safely escort Blazer from the trailer that was still on its side. I have no doubt what happened next was a testimony to the past week of trust building between he and his master; Blazer calmly walked off the trailer and stood completely still as Phillip checked him head to toe. He had a few cuts but seemed to be fine. He then lead him straight onto the back of the cattle trailer. By this time there were several people who had stopped  to help and all commented how amazing it was to see the horse so calm.

In the aftermath, I climbed up the hill on the side of the interstate and looked out over the crash site and thought how different this story could have ended..I raised my hands and heart toward heaven and thanked my Father one more time for his grace and mercy! Immediately a vision came to mind. When the enemy came against us and said “take that” as he rammed that truck into our side; God said “No, I’ll take this” and covered us with his wings bringing us to a safe ending! Not because of anything we have done but because of what he is going to do in and through us. He is not finished with us yet and I praise him again for what he has done and what he is going to do.

For His Glory!

Psalms 63:7  ¶Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.