Sometimes I text Mark when he’s asleep (#nightowlproblems) because I just can’t wait until the next day to tell him something. As my message shows, I’d forgotten the day of my car accident—an event I don’t often mention. I remember getting T-boned and then seeing that my sunglasses on the seat next to me had both lenses popped out. I don’t remember much else except that I had music playing: “Great Are You Lord” by All Sons and Daughters. The chorus took on new meaning for me that day:
It’s Your breath / In our lungs
So we pour out our praise / Pour out our praise
I walked away from the accident with the distinct sense that God spared my life. It was and is His breath in my lungs—an ever-expanding, contracting gift.
Today is our year-and-a-half anniversary (the half-birthday of our wedding, if you will), and finding this reminder of a life given back is so meaningful on this day especially. A wedding bouquet replaced what could have been funeral flowers.
Where there could have been death, God brought life — a familiar refrain throughout Christian history and teaching, but personalized for me in these two experiences. Every inhalation and exhalation is a gift, and these bones will continue singing the Giver’s greatness.
What day or dates has God redeemed in your life? I’d love to know.