Pause

The other day I drove Eva to school, like always. Same time. Same roads. Very routine. 

I stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, and when it turned green, I scanned left, right, left before proceeding to turn right. 

All was clear, but as I went to release the brake, I felt a strange sensation that I can only describe as a “pause.” It was like I froze for a second, completely checked out, and then started up again. At the moment I “started up again,” a car came through the intersection at full speed. Several other drivers slammed on their horns in anger. Eva started yelling (she’s my road rage assistant - I am not proud). 

There were five lanes of traffic that could have been hit by this car (two going straight in each direction plus me turning right into the lane the car flew through), and with how late that car came barreling through, it was not probable that the intersection would stay clear. Somehow, despite how much time had passed, not a single car had moved into that intersection.

The rest of the drive to the school, I was a little weepy. I should have been in the intersection. If I hadn’t experienced that pause, we would have been hit. I would have had a very different morning, and maybe even a very different life. 

The significant factor was a split second pause, and not just for me, but for everyone about to enter that intersection. It was not a coincidence. We were all protected that day, and I am so thankful. I wish I could ask all of the other drivers if they felt what I felt. Why did they all hesitate? Did time stand still for us all?

I always reflect on experiences like this and wonder why we were spared. God doesn’t interfere and prevent all tragedies, but sometimes through tiny miracles, we are kept safe. This time, I was aware of it, but how often am I affected by little “pauses” and don’t even know? Maybe the days I hit too many red lights, or the times my garage door doesn’t close, or when I forget something and have to go back, or when I take the wrong exit. I’m sure things happen all the time, and I’m oblivious, so I’m grateful that this week it was obvious. The pause was not nothing.

Hitting pause to watch the sunset