Step 7: The Middle of The Road

SATURDAY LATE NIGHT:
Had a very interesting evening tonight, and since this is a blog, I wont make a long story short. :)

Mark has been gone for a month from the house and trying to shop with a four year old and a nine month old is nearly impossible when you are buying gifts for them. Could it be done...yes...but knowing that Mark would be home and I could join all the other procrastinators at the 24 hour Walmart, I waited til Saturday Night.

I didnt spend much time just picking a little something special for the boys (who am I kidding, it was closer to an hour but what can I say..I am a midwest girl who grew up in Walmart). But I checked out and got in my car and headed to the 24 hour grocery store across the street to pick up tomorrows dinner. Not much drama..I know...I am getting there.  I get in my car and head home.

So here is all the excitement you have been waiting for:

On my way home, I like to take the back roads that not many people travel on or know about. The speed limit is 45 and there is little to no street lights. All of a sudden I find myself swerving to miss a girl that is SITTING in the middle of the ROAD (she was wearing all black might I add). I am not one that ignores something and hopes that someone else will handle it. I quickly make a u turn and watch as another car doesn't even see her and literally brushes her with his car. He kept driving...it was obvious that he had no idea that she was sitting there. As I got closer to her I noticed that there was another boy with her. He was standing next to her. Aware that this is a situation where they want you to stop so they have someone waiting to take your car, I drove by them slowly, rolled down the window, and asked what was going on. He looked at me and said an ambulance was on the way (there was no sign that anything physical was wrong, or why she had to wait in the middle of the road for an ambulance). I didnt stop to talk to him, so that was all that I heard as I drove past. She remained in the middle of the road. I was afraid that someone might hit her, so I made another uturn, stayed about 15 yards away from them and put my hazards on and my high beams on them, and called 911. I have to say that every thing in my being was on awareness. I kept my eyes all around in case there was someone that wanted to hurt me. As I talked to 911 the two people stood up and cussed me out to leave them alone. WAS THIS SOME SUCIDE ATTEMPT? I cant even begin to explain all the emotions that were going on. First, my heart was racing as I realized over and over again that I almost TOOK A LIFE, second, I was alert at the fact that this could be just a plot to get someone out of there car to do who knows what, and third, feeling the need to help these young people out becuase it was obvious that they were not okay...SHE WAS SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.

What makes this story that much of a heartache is that while I was on the phone with 911, somehow our signal was crossed and even though I was talking to an agent, I was also hearing all the other 911 calls come  in that night. I listened to 3 calls in a row of young girls crying out for help because there friend was committing suicide. The terror and fear in their voice made the situation that much more real. I could hear the girls give there address to the police and I so badly wanted to drive over and help. I felt helpless. I felt the need greater than before of a generation that is hurting. I am not always aware of what to say and what to do, but tonight I know that it is not about that. It is just about caring, being there, about loving. I know growing up was difficult for me, and the one thing that gave me hope was knowing that there was someone that loved me, cared for me, and was willing to fight for me. It is a generation that is more in need of Jesus than ever before. We cant ignore this situation anymore. We have to fight for them.

I am not aware of what happened with the two young people. But tonight I saw the generation that is hurting, the ones that are hidden in the phone calls, that no one else hears, but need help.


SUNDAY AFTERNOON:
I wrote all the above while the emotions were raw and real last night. Today in church I kept having to shake my head to try and dislodge the visual image that plays over and over in my head. An inch later...or a second  faster...or....plays over and over. Then I realized that I cant play it like that. I have to see it that God knew what he was doing when he had me drive in that direction. I wasn't meant to hit her, I was there to protect her. I wish I was able to get out of the car and talk to them. Just even letting her know that I cared enough about her life that I would wait there all night til help came. That I DIDNT keep driving. I stopped. I cared.

I dont know. It is one of the situations you ask God about.

Closing thoughts.  In church today there was a scripture that stuck out. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18.


¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate^[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


 The very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, wants to lift the veil that has been placed over their faces. There is a generation screaming out for help. I know, I heard them on the phone last night.