Sometimes God has to keep teaching you the same lesson over and over before you finally get it.

On this day in 2011 I worked my last shift as a dairy/deli orderfiller, and was ready to start dry side the next week. As I was going home on that cold rainy day, God stepped in to teach me a lesson it would take a while for me to learn.

Dairy/deli is cold. All day long; in the cold. When I got off that day, it was raining a fine mist, and the temperature was about par for December. So, naturally I would turn the heat on in my 1999 Pontiac Sunfire as I headed for the house. The radio had not been working right for some time, so I did not bother turning it on. This would turn out to be a mistake. As the interior of the car warmed, I begin to relax from the days work and the cold weather. That is when I began to doze off.

Less than a quarter-mile from the house, I guess I fell asleep only to wake in a start. I found myself in the wrong lane, and without thinking, I jerk the wheel to get back on my side of the road. The combination of wet road and bald tires did not play to my favor. The car began to slide to the left. I steered into the slide to correct the skid, but must have over-steered. The car’s back-end slid too far to the right, and I was sliding on the edge of the road. The next thing I remember is the passenger front tire blowing and then everything was still.

I put the car in park and killed the engine. My first thought was that I can walk on to the house if I need to. Then, I unbuckled my seat-belt. It was at that moment that I realized my car was on its top. After landing on my head, I began to look for a way out of the wreck. The driver side window was busted, so I crawled out of it just to find myself on the ground looking up into the rain. The first person to my side was a truck driver that was on the road behind me. 

The driver would not let me up. I just wanted to go home, but there was more people there that wanted me to stay on the ground and not move. In the end, I escaped this without more than some minor scrapes.

God was trying to get my attention, but I was not listening very well. In March of 2012 I would purchase my next vehicle. It was a 2000 GMC Jimmy 4X4. I would enjoy that truck for the next four years. God still had lessons to teach me…if I would listen.

In July of 2012, my family got the news that my father was facing death. He had stage 4 lung cancer, and began to make his final arrangements. The doctors gave him a few months, but he only got one. August 23, 2012 he passed. In his last words, he reminded all of us that everyday is special. He let us all know that God wanted us to learn to take better care of ourselves and live each day to its fullest.

I still was not listening.

Shortly after the funeral, I ostracized a large portion of my family. I let the rawness of my nerves get to me, and I said some things that would not have made my father proud. I was going to keep messing up, until God would show me the costs.

In the early part of 2013, I would really start hearing God speak to me, but I wanted to do things my own way. While talking about furthering my wife’s education, I selfishly began to pursue my own Master’s degree. I know now that God did not want me to do this, but I wanted it for me. As a result, I graduated in October of 2014 with a degree that has proven to be quite useless. 

God would let me stew in my mistake for a while.

On December 20, 2015 my eyes would be opened wide.

A few days before that, my truck broke down on the highway going to work. The transmission was not shifting past 3rd gear, so I left it on the side of the road and caught a ride with some friends. That Sunday, after church, I would get my brother to carry me to the truck. He, his son, and myself were going to try to drive the truck off of the highway so we could safely tow it back to my house. We made it a few miles toward the house when all of a sudden everything changed.

My brother and nephew were in his truck behind me with their flashers on. I was on the phone with my brother, telling him that I was about to pull my truck off the highway when I heard the most awful noise. At first I thought it was coming from the truck, but it was not. I could not hear my brother on the phone. So I looked in the mirror, just in time to see my brother’s truck being hit by a semi-truck. The next thing I know is that I too was hit, and I found myself sliding into the ditch. I was able to steer the truck into some trees and bring my truck to a stop.

In the aftermath of the accident, I found that I was trapped in the truck. However, after I looked back to where my brother’s truck was, I was determined to get to him and my nephew. I kicked the passenger door open and ran as fast as I could. My nephew was in shock, but OK for the most part. My brother on the other hand was unconscious. His injuries also included a severely dislocated shoulder.

Now, it is three years later, and I have learned my lesson. Since then, I have become an ordained minister, a published author, and I am ready to follow God wherever He sends me. But that was not the lesson He wanted me to learn.

It was not the cars, or the loss of my father that taught me. In the end, it was a single image. After getting help for my brother that day, I went back to my truck to find my phone, and I saw one thing that would forever change my life.

 This is a picture of my daughter’s car seat. You see, earlier that day, my mother-in-law took both of my girls with her. My wife had some shopping to do, and they wanted to go with their Nene. Had they not gone with her, my youngest most likely would have been with me. She loves to go wherever I go, and I know she would have been in the truck with me. The moment I saw this in my backseat, I knew she would not have survived the crash, or at the very least would have been severely injured.

It all comes down to one decision. If she had not decided to go with her Nene that day, I may not have her today. That is the lesson God wanted me to learn. Weigh the costs. Consider the decisions in life, and live each day like it matters. Because it does matter.

The lesson I wanted to share through this story is this: Count the costs! If something were to happen today that would cost you tomorrow, do you know where you would be? Have you made the only decision that really matters? I have been ready for a long time, but I was not living according to His plan. God had to show me the hard way. That first wreck was a wake-up call! “Start living for the moment!” is what God was telling me. When my father was dying, I begged God to let me take his sin. My father assured me that he was prepared and saved. God was telling me that He had it taken care of, and not to miss today looking for tomorrow. He taught me to trust Him and listen with the degree. But in the last wreck, He humbled me. He showed me how easy one decision can change everything. That is when I decided to make sure that I will not take any day for granted.

I choose to share Jesus! Make the greatest decision today! Do not wait for tomorrow!