Protection on the Motorway

I had a wonderful experience of God's complete protection when I was involved in a car crash in November 2012. This experience proved to me that the divine Mind governs all, and I can trust every detail of my life to God's care.

I was driving home from work one wet and windy night and had recently joined the motorway. The traffic was heavy, and visibility was poor. I don't remember much of what happened, but I believe I was driving in either the middle or the outside lane when a lorry hit my car from behind, sending it spinning out across the lanes of traffic and onto the hard shoulder. Apparently the impact caused me to hit my head on the door frame of my car, and I was knocked unconscious.

When I came to at the side of the road, I was calm and unafraid, although a little dazed. A few other drivers had stopped to help, and a kind lady was talking to me. As soon as I became aware of what had happened, I mentally affirmed my safety and that God was taking care of me. The lady offered to call my husband, and after she had briefly described the situation to him I spoke to him and he agreed to call a practitioner for me. He was reassuring and firm in the truth that 'all is well'.

Physically, I seemed to be unharmed and was able to get out of the car to stand under my umbrella at the edge of the road with the other drivers who had stopped to help. Before long, the emergency services arrived, and a police officer made arrangements for a recovery vehicle to pick up my car, as well as gathering details from the lorry driver, who had stopped a little further down the road.

Since an ambulance had been called, I obliged with the paramedic's normal routine, and he gave me a basic check-up. He seemed to be happy with everything, but when I mentioned that I had been unconscious he said that they should take me straight to hospital to be checked out. I replied that I would like to be taken somewhere where my husband could pick me up and reassured him that I felt fine. I also said that my husband and I were Christians and we were praying about the situation. The paramedic was respectful of my decision but seemed concerned, and advised me that if I experienced certain symptoms I should have my husband drive me straight to A&E.

The ambulance dropped me off at a supermarket just off the motorway, where my husband was waiting to pick me up. Although I was grateful for the kindness of the paramedics, it was a great relief to be out of that medical 'atmosphere of thought'! When I called the practitioner from the supermarket car park, she reminded me of the passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures where Mary Baker Eddy writes,

"Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony." (p.424)

That evening, I was still somewhat disturbed by the incident, and I had a troubled night's sleep. When it seemed that one of the symptoms the paramedic had said to watch out for was appearing I held onto the truth of the statement above - that nothing had really happened and God had been taking care of me throughout that evening. I also worked with passages in Science and Health about how all real consciousness is in Mind, not matter. Throughout the next day I worked with these ideas and was soon completely free of any symptoms or haunting memory of the incident.

I am still in awe of the way that this event unfolded. Although to human sense I seemed to be unconscious, divine Mind guided my car safely through the lanes of traffic, avoiding all other vehicles, and brought me safely to rest on the hard shoulder. This was truly an example of "God's unerring direction".

As a postscript to this testimony, I would also like to add that this experience also brought an additional challenge of working through the insurance claim process. The lorry driver did not provide full insurance details at the scene, and since he was resident abroad, it was difficult for my insurance company to trace him, and it seemed that he did not report the incident. Although I received a cheque for the value of the car (and was able to buy a new one very quickly), my excess of a few hundred pounds was not returned. Also, when the time came for my insurance renewal, my premium went up by a huge amount, since the incident was treated as being my fault.

This challenge pushed me to dig deeper into the spiritual truth that Principle governs all, and that, as the practitioner I worked with told me, there is no discord - not even a claim of discord. I included all of the people involved with this matter in my prayers - the insurance company staff, the Motor Insurance Bureau, and the lorry driver - knowing that they were all the beloved children of God. At some point, I came to the realisation that, whatever happened, Principle was taking care of everything. I stopped calling the insurance company every week and just trusted that things would be resolved at the right time.

It was over a year after the incident when everything was finally settled, but it was! My insurance company was able to trace the lorry driver and settle the claim. My excess was returned, and even the additional amount I had paid for renewing my insurance was refunded.

I am so grateful for this example of God’s care, which meets all our needs.