God's Mercies are New Every Day
My wife was out of town the past few days travelling with the kids for a family event. I found out on Saturday they had been on I-40, heading from Nashville to Murfreesboro to eat dinner, but they didn't make it there because the highway was closed down.
It turns out there was an accident. A six-car pileup only a little ways ahead. Instead of being the 2nd car, my family was in the 102nd car. They are safe.
In that wreckage was a student from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, his wife, and their kids. They all died.
One article on the accident reads like this.
“A youth pastor, his wife and his two sons were all killed after being involved in a six-vehicle crash in Tennessee, and one driver has been charged with driving under the influence.”
Al Mohler Tweeted:
“Late Friday night @SBTS student Michael Cruce, his wife, and 2 teenage sons all killed in car accident. Entire family instantly with Jesus.”
This could have been a different article and a different Tweet about me missing my family. Today would have been a different day.
For another family, a church, and many other friends, today is a day of sorrow. I share that to a degree, just from reading the news. This is a degree permitted only by my distance from the accident; I didn't know those involved, though I resonate with the story because I, too, am a seminary student and my family was on that road about that time.
However, this is also a reminder of how dependent we are on God. This situation could have easily been significantly different, worse in general and much worse for me.
God is good. Sometimes we forget just how good he is. We should be praying for the church and the rest of the family members that will be missing these fine folks. We should also thank God for his mercy on us every day. We don't deserve it, but he keeps us safe more than we know.