We Flipped Seven Times, Part 2

My younger sister screamed out panic, “Je-sus! Je-sus! Je-sus!” Unknown to me, she had kept her eyes open as the car had flipped and had seen everything as we bounced and flipped from side to side. From my resting place, I was able to calmly reassure her, “We are going to be OK, Shelby. Just hold on. We will be OK.” The car finally landed upright—on four, now flat, tires. We were sitting upright, but I looked and saw what I presumed was smoke coming from the engine. I said, “There is smoke; we have to get out now!” I tried to open my door, and though I pushed hard, it would not budge. I checked the lock but still could not open the door.

I repeated to Shelby that we had to get out.

I told her to open her door.

She was afraid to get out because she was unsure of where we were.

However, through a small opening between the airbags, God allowed me to see a sliver of grass and a sliver of asphalt. I screamed at Shelby to get her attention, “Open the door!” She did, and I reached through and pushed her out.

Amazingly, miraculously, Shelby said later that a man’s hand reached and grabbed her hand, guiding her out onto the grassy median.

And there we remained, singing praises in thankfulness to the God who had kept us alive. We had not died. Moments later, a stranger held me because I could not stand in my own power. He told me repeatedly, “Lean on me; I got you.” Another stranger knelt beside my sister and held her. Yet another stranger asked if he could pray for us, and, of course, we cried, “Yes!” An off-duty emergency medical technician just happened to pass by and was able to check us out. Soon, the police arrived and asked about the accident.

The man who had helped me stand was a truck driver, and he had witnessed the entire thing. He told the officer that he had counted the number of times our car had flipped. “How many times?” asked the police officer. “Seven,” he said. “I counted seven flips.” Our Jesus told His angels to care for us and keep us safe, no doubt about it! No matter the dangers we face in this life—when we place our trust in Him, we will find our rest in Him!

Sylvia Jackson Wilson