A six-car pile-up

For the month of February, our church is having our mid-week service on Tuesdays.  Pastor Jamie invites local pastors (who have their services on Wednesday) to preach for us.  It has been encouraging.  I had my wife’s car worked on today, and John didn’t get it finished, so tonight Kathy and I had to go to church in my old 1990 work van.  No problem for me, but hard for my wife to get in and out of.  So, after church, Kathy’s dear friend, Marleen, volunteered to take her home while I stopped by a church widow’s house to take her garbage can out to the street.  So, Kathy and Marleen were a few minutes ahead of me.  It has been raining all day, and there were puddles everywhere, but I got the garbage can to the street and headed home.  I drove to the interstate, and slipped into the traffic flow with wipers going, front and rear.  I just topped the hill into Georgia when I saw brake-lights ahead.  Cars were slamming to a crawl and trucks were jamming their brakes.  I moved only a hundred yards when I saw everyone merging right.  Then I saw the smashed cars.  One, two, then several others came into my headlights in the dark.  A police car had just arrived, and I saw another coming from behind.  As I passed mangled steel, I looked at each vehicle.  I went by too quickly to identify each one.  I was looking for Marleen’s little SUV.  I called Marleen, but she didn’t answer.  I called Kathy, and after four rings she picked up.  I was never so glad to hear her voice.  They were just going into our sub-division.  My wife had missed a six-car pile-up by about five minutes, and I had missed it by about one minute.  “… For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14  Life is fleeting.  Make your peace with your Maker while you can.