Ten years ago today was almost the most tragic day of my life.  It was a Friday morning and I was at a local post office contract station that also housed a small gift shop.  I stood in line for the post office with my 1-year old son and 3-year old daughter.  We waited in line long enough that the kids started to get impatient (that could have been 30 seconds at their age.)  While we waited my son transitioned between a wobbly stand beside me and wanting to be held.  My daughter went between standing by my side and wandering around the store looking at the various items on display.  I kept my spot in line waiting to take care of whatever postal transaction I needed to that day.  

The next events seemed to happen in slow motion.  I don’t remember what was said but someone to my right yelled out to warn others in the store.  I turned to look to my right when suddenly a car exploded through a window on the south side of the building, not far from where I stood.  I remember making the instinctive move to dart away but as I moved I felt a shove on the back of my right shoulder which sent me flying across the room.  I landed quite a distance from where I started and was still clutching my baby tightly in my arms even though I had been thrown quite a ways and went from standing to flat on the floor.  My son and I both cracked our heads on something as we propelled through the room but I am not sure what we hit. I suspect it was a wooden display table nearby.

After landing I realized that my baby was still in my arms but I didn’t know where my daughter was.  I stood up frantically screaming her name and rushing around looking for her.  I was terrified that I would find her under the car that was now fully inside of the building.  When I realized that she was in the gift shop area of the store, safely distanced from the car, I grabbed her and squeezed both my babies into the most desperate and relieved embrace they will ever know.  

The seconds that it took for the car to enter the building and me to assess my babies’ well-being are fully ingrained in my memory. The events that followed don’t stick with me quite as well.  I know I called my dad to come over because he worked nearby and could get there quickly.  My husband worked out of town and hurried home as soon as he found out what happened.  My head hurt but was I wasn’t injured.  My son was very quiet and did not seem right so we went to the ER to have him checked out.  I feared he had a concussion but he checked out okay.  My daughter proudly showed off the small scrape on her finger that she must have obtained from flying debris.  I also have images of sitting on the curb, our pastor visiting us while we were in the ER, and the vicious black I eye I had in the coming days.

By the grace of God, no one was killed that day.  One woman who had been in line was pinned by her legs between the car and a wall and suffered major injuries.  I am very thankful for the woman to my right who yelled when she saw the car heading towards the building because without that notice I likely would have been blindsided by the car instead of having a moment to prepare.  

After reflecting on the location and direction of the vehicle it is possible that the shove I felt (the one that sent me flying across the room) came from the side mirror of the car.  That would be the earthly explanation for what happened.  But I believe we experienced a miracle that day.  I believe it was the hand of God coming down to save us.  His mighty hand carried a mother and her son out of the way of that vehicle and landed us safely across the room.

That day 10 years ago could have ended much differently for our family.  What if the woman hadn’t yelled a warning, what if my son was standing instead of in my arms, what if my daughter was still shopping on the side of the store where the car came in, what if the car had been positioned just inches one way or the other and struck the wall of the building instead of being perfectly positioned to pass through the window, and most importantly--what if God hadn’t been there to carry me out of the exact path the car took into the building?! These thoughts can overwhelm you or you can choose to live with gratitude for the way things played out.  

I don’t know why we were carried out of the way and another individual suffered by being pinned at the front of the vehicle.  I suspect the driver of the vehicle also suffered an immense amount of anguish following that day.  Maybe he shouldn’t have been allowed behind the wheel any longer or maybe it was a fluke accident.  I don’t know the answer and nothing would change even if I did.  

I have never set foot in that building again and don’t ever plan to.  Even with a grateful heart, there are just some things a mama can’t face.  I’m just so thankful that ten years later I can reflect back at the miracle that happened that day instead of the tragedy.