God's Lessons
by Simon Mee

Just as a parent will often let a child learn from their mistakes the hard way, such is the way that God will also work.

I work about two hours away from my home, and at least twice weekly I make the long journey up and down some of England's most treacherous motorways, in particular the M25 London orbital. For many months I would often drive home for my days off following a 12-14 hour shift, and understandably I was very tired after the long day.

On two occasions I almost came perilously close to having an accident. The first time I had fallen asleep at the wheel I was woken suddenly by the sound of the car tyres grating over the motorway rumble strips. Realizing what had happened I thanked my lucky stars nothing more serious had occurred.

The second time round I had once more decided to drive home tired. I fell asleep again, only to be woken as the car shuddered along the grass verge of the motorway. After this you would have thought I had learnt my lesson.

As the old saying goes, "everything happens in threes." After another long day at work I was all set to go home for a few much-needed days of rest. I'd already been awake for around 17 hours. A voice in my head told me to go to sleep, but my desire to get home early to see my friends and family stubbornly over-rode this voice.

Whilst driving along the M25 during a busy evening period God chose to teach me a painful lesson for failing to learn from my past mistakes. I fell asleep again. This time, however, the consequences were much more frightening. Whilst sleeping I'd drifted off toward the motorway crash barrier. Suddenly waking I realized too late what had happened. The car spun out of control and time seemed to slow down for me as the car skidded 720 degrees across four lanes of busy oncoming traffic, coming to rest on the hard shoulder, the car facing the way it had when I had spun out of control.

I immediately crossed myself and said praise to Jesus because I knew I probably should have been killed. Coming to a stop near the emergency telephone I checked myself over. Apart from being shaken I was completely unharmed. Not even whiplash from the fierce skid.

The car however was a different story. The rubble near the crash barrier had blown out my back tyre, which had caused me to lose control of the car. The rear axle had bent inward and the car was rolling along on the rear alloy. The back bumper had also come loose. It would mean a very expensive trip to the garage.

Anyone who has ever traveled on the M25 will tell you what a dangerous motorway it is. I still can't begin to comprehend how none of the many cars traveling well in excess of 60-70 miles an hour all managed to avoid colliding with me. Being a Christian I attribute this to God. He had already warned me twice with near misses, even supplanting that little voice in my head before hand, which had told me to get some rest before I set off. I'd ignored it almost to my peril.

So God chose to take things a step further and ram home this message. It had taken a near fatal experience to finally knock some sense into me. God and his angels had protected me that evening, and I'm now a lot more careful and sensible when it comes to driving home after work. If I hear that voice telling me to rest before hand, I do.

The message I leave you is this. God is all loving but like a parent his lessons may often involve a bit of harsh discipline. Always listen to what God tells you and try and learn from your mistakes the first time they occur! God had not meant me any harm that night. I truly believe that he was watching over me that evening. I still wonder what might have been if one of the cars had collided with me as I skid perilously across the motorway. I wouldn't be here writing this, that much I am sure of. But like a loving farther He knew that I'd have to learn the hard way. Now I never drive home after a busy working day. After 3 warnings I know if I fall asleep for a forth time I will most likely be sleeping forever.

God bless and praise the Lord. Through him all things are possible. Thanks for reading.