ActsFire

June 7, 2020

As I was driving to South Carolina this week, I remembered telling myself I would never come here again. There was no need and I had seen all I would ever want to see of South Carolina.

The last time I was here, I was laying on the side of the road with shards of glass stuck in my legs, bleeding, fire ants crawling on me and waiting for an ambulance. Even that day, with fear and anger in my heart, I still knew God spared my life and my legs.

I had been riding in the car, coming home from a trip to Myrtle Beach. It seemed like a perfectly beautiful day. I was just waking up from sleeping in the passenger seat. I lifted my seat from a reclined position and began to notice, what seemed like the 20th sign, saying “Buckle up. It’s the law.” I always wear my seat belt, so I didn’t think much other than there were a lot of signs to buckle up. They just wouldn’t stop and I started thinking, ‘well, I do have the shoulder strap tucked under my arm, maybe I should wear it correctly’, so I fixed it to be worn the way it was meant to be worn. As soon as I listened to the sign, I felt a coldness come over me. I turned to look in the back seat and there was a pillow with a blanket stacked on top of it. For some reason, I intentionally threw the blanket out of my way and grabbed the pillow. This was crazy to me because I wanted to cover up from being cold. Why would I choose a pillow over a blanket? I had no idea that choice was going to aid in what was about to happen to me. I curled my legs up into the seat and placed the pillow over my body to keep me warm. Within 60 seconds I saw a big puff of black smoke in front of me. The rest went in such slow motion, words cannot describe it.

My eyes looked down into the floorboard as I watched the entire front left of my car be wiped off, the tire, the wheel and the metal. Where my legs should have been, was no longer there. Then I lost my sense of orientation and realized the car was rolling over. I cried out to God literally pleading for protection from the chaos. The roof that had been far from the top of my head got a little closer. Glass from the windshield shattered and flew into the car. It looked like it was raining glass. It would not stop rolling. Another blow to the roof and it got closer and closer to my head…again and again. I thought I was going to die. The car finally landed on the passenger side, flipped so that the wheels were not even on the ground. The person driving was able to crawl out of the driver’s side window. They asked if I could get out and I cried and said no. I looked to my right and only saw concrete and grass. I stayed there completely terrified. All I could think was that a semi-truck was going to hit the car, obliterate whatever was left of it and me. I was paralyzed in fear.

Then I heard a woman’s voice. I looked up and saw a beautiful, heavy set woman whose face was soft, gentle, her eyes warm and consoling like a mother’s eyes. I immediately trusted her. She asked, “Sweetie, are you able to get out of the car?” I just wanted to stay in that car because I was certain I was in the middle of the road, in oncoming traffic. No one could reach me and I knew the only way out was for me to crawl out but I was frozen. She knew it and left. It felt like I was sitting there a good minute or two all alone. Then I see a man look down at me from the other side of the car. I remember that his physical appearance was not what society would deem as handsome. His glasses where thick and I could barely make out his eyes. He was balding but kept a bit of his hair anyway. I remember looking at him and I knew that in his face, he was a good man but probably one that had been overlooked by others. To me, he looked like an angel. I can’t explain it but I knew he was determined to help me. He asked me to get out of the car. I told him, “No. I can’t.” He said, “I NEED you to get out of the car.” I told him no that I was going to wait for the police or an ambulance. He said to me sternly, “I know you want to wait for them but I’m going to need you to get out of this car. You can do it. I’ll help you. Just unbuckle and reach for my hand.” He said it with an authority that I knew he meant business and I wasn’t going to be able to wait. So, I cried out one more time in defeat and told him “I’m scared. I’m so scared. What if I get hurt again?” Suddenly he lowered those coke bottle glasses and I saw the sincerity and concern in his eyes. He said, “Sweetie, there is gas leaking everywhere and I’m concerned this car is about to catch on fire.” That was all it took. I un-clicked my seat belt and fell onto the pavement. I got my bearings and crawled out of the driver’s side window. Just as I thought, we were in the middle of the highway. Except the speeding traffic I had envisioned speeding past us was lined for miles down the highway, at a dead stop. There were people everywhere that had gotten out of their cars to help.

I remember grabbing his hand and blanking out from shock. He pulled me from the car, laid me down in the grass on the side of the road. When I opened my eyes, I looked up and there was that sweet lady who had initially tried to help me. She sat down next to me on the road and held my hand. She asked me if I needed her to call my mom. I told her no, I’m 23 years old. She said, “Wow, I thought you were 16 or 17. Well that’s good.” There was a brief silence, then “Do you need me to call your mom anyway?” I laughed and told her no.

I could feel the glass in my legs. There was a lot and I could feel the blood dripping down them. I looked over and saw there were fire ants everywhere. I told the lady there’s fire ants, you have to get up but she didn’t. She sat right there and held my hand until the paramedics arrived. I remember them immediately putting me in a neck brace and I reached for her hand and asked her a favor. “There was this man. He saved me. He helped me to get out of the car and I need to find him and thank him.” She asked me what he looked like and when I described him, she smiled and let out a joyful laugh. She said, “That’s my husband.” I asked her to please give me their names and phone number. She tucked a business card into my pocket and the EMT’s took me away.

On the long ride to the hospital, I thought how the events unfolded. How the few signs that were given to me saved my legs and possibly my life. I had just woken up. Just put my seat belt on correctly, just curled my legs up and covered my body with a pillow instead of a blanket. How the car stopped rolling just in time before that last inch of the roof touched my head. Tears rolled down the sides of my face. I knew God saved me. I knew he saved my legs and I just started sobbing.

At times, 2020 has kind of looked like that wreck. We experienced a new virus that shook the entire world, political hatred, riots and looting, friends and family turning on each other over different social and political opinions. I can't imagine what it would feel like to go through all of this without the comfort and love of Jesus. 

God saved my life in South Carolina that day. I said I'd never come back but I was wrong and I'm glad I did. I am here now at ActsFire, a Revival meeting. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit has been so intense. It’s not even over yet and the things God has shown me in the Spirit, heal my heart, fill me with joy and hope.

I was lifting my hands in worship to the Lord and in the room of about 150 people. God showed me that soon there would be thousands, that as close in proximity as I am to Apostle Ricardo Watson, I may not have such a close seat again. The world looks really dark right now to a lot of people, but I believe revival is coming. I know it’s coming because God has shown me.

I wish for my family and friends to be touched by God the way he has touched my life. Maybe there is someone in your life whose faith you admire, whose visions are unbelievable in your mind. The relationship they have with God seems unfamiliar to anything you have experienced. You don’t know what to do, so you do nothing out of fear. You stay stuck in your seat. I pray you allow the person that is looking at you, trying to help you, trying to save you and lead you to God; that you trust them. Unbuckle the seat belt of fear and let God pull you out of the brokenness of life. He loves you. He will heal you and our nation. Revival is coming. You just have to give it your hand.