By Alan Ahlgrim
“God isn’t finished with you guys yet!”
That’s what one emergency worker said when they saw where our vehicle landed. After crashing against a rock cliff on an icy mountain road, the SUV’s front wheel twisted on the axle. That’s when the vehicle almost flipped over, which in the moment is what all five of its occupants expected it to do! Then we landed hard and careened across the pavement stopping only four inches from tumbling over the edge of the road. Even the experts were amazed and impressed!
The driver and four passengers all had reason to give God heartfelt thanks, especially when we later saw the tire tracks in the snow. We all were shaken up, but only two of us were banged up a little when the side airbags deployed. I’m told those side curtains inflate at something like 200 mph. Needless to say, our planning retreat was shortened, and the rental car may never be “rentable” again.
I’ve long loved Mother Teresa’s line, “Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser.” Our recent mishap was further evidence of how true that is. I had just spent a wonderful week in back-to-back retreats in Estes Park, Colo., with a dozen guys from far and wide. They are among my most trusted soul allies.
We were just wrapping up another amazing and inspiring day and were on the way to celebrate over dinner. We had come to total unity in our discoveries and determinations about the future of our ministry with Covenant Connections. Each of these guys passionately owns this effort of connecting pastors in soul-enriching covenant groups to serve well and finish well.
I keep saying, “I’m fulfilled, but I’m not yet finished!” but I’m not naïve . . . I know that my last day could be any day. That was again made clear to me and to my close allies in soul care. By God’s grace, we are living to serve another day.
Ironically, I have shared as many or more laughs with the four guys who were with me in this crash than about anyone else. We weren’t laughing after the accident, however. We were unusually quiet, sedate, and serious; we had no doubt that Someone saved us! These guys are more prone to reflection than exaggeration.
The five of us in this “gravity group” (David Roberson, Rick Shonkwiler, Clark Tanner, Mike Waers, and myself) share much in common. We’re all in the same generation of church leaders, having served large congregations with all the heart hits and heartaches that go with that. That’s probably one reason we often find our brand of pastoral humor to be so bonding. It’s sometimes how we deal with our own frailties and failures, disturbances, and disappointments.
The gravity of our struggles has always bound us together as brothers. That’s true now more than ever. There’s nothing quite like the trauma of a near-death experience to get your attention and to knit hearts as never before. It’s not just where you go in life but who goes with you that makes it so memorable and meaningful.
This group has often teased me about being “my favorite.” I’ll admit to this: In a traumatic event like we just experienced, I couldn’t have picked a better bunch to share it with . . . I will always think of them as my “gravity group”!
We will forever be bonded by shared trauma. Yet even though all five of us were in the same vehicle, we were not all in the same place emotionally immediately afterward. In the first moments of the crash, three thought they would die. After processing the trauma, the other two realized we came very close to death. Certainly, we slid to within four inches of it.
While we weren’t likely to tumble for long, we were high above Estes Park at nearly 8,000 feet elevation. The small SUV would have been our personal tumbler. Even if we had rolled for just a few seconds before smashing against trees or rocks, we would have been more than a little shaken up.
We’re all convinced that divine intervention prevented us from going over the edge. There is no other logical explanation. As one of the emergency workers concluded . . . “God must still have greater plans for you.”
I later reminded the guys of a favorite Scripture passage: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24-25).
God incessantly speaks to us all. As Henry Blackaby wrote in Experiencing God, “God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.”
When we returned from the hospital, one of the guys grabbed two books I had left out in the cabin. He smiled and said, “What are we to make of these titles?”
The books: And Then the End Will Come by Douglas Cobb and Living in Bonus Time by Alec Hill.
We’ve just been reminded that we are indeed living in bonus time, and the end will come! Some might find it interesting that this accident doesn’t change anything about our future plans! We will keep on living our days on purpose to help our brothers serve and finish well. We each know our assignments. If anything, the gravity of this experience makes us even more convinced we need to intentionally fulfill the mission God has given to us. How about you?
This I believe—we are all here on assignment and might even be invincible until our work on earth is done! “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).
I love these words of Thomas a Kempis,
Happy is he that always hath the hour of his death before his eyes and daily prepareth himself to die. . . . When it is morning think thou mayest die before night; and when evening comes dare not to promise thyself the next morning. Be thou therefore always in readiness, and so lead thy life so that death may never take thee unprepared.
Alan Ahlgrim serves as CSO (chief soul care officer) with Covenant Connections for Pastors. He is the author of Soul Strength—Rhythms for Thriving.
Covenant Connections is committed to helping leaders connect well in soul-enriching relationships in order to serve well and finish well. For more information, go to www.covenantconnections.life.
Interesting, being 82 years old I’m supprised to be alive. I used to be able to remember six times when I should have been killed or severely injured. Maybe with time I could recall all six. There may have been more I am not even aware of.
God is good. I try to make use of the time He has given me but know I fail miserably.
Sixteen years ago, I, too, came close to “the edge,” laying on the table of the heart cath lab at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, and hearing the staff tell my wife Brenda, “We don’t see how you got him here alive.” It was the afternoon of my 60th birthday: I was supposed to be eating banana pudding about that time! Further, the surgeon pleasantly stated, “You and I have a date in the morning at 6:00 AM.” On the way from the lab to the cozy confines of a room in the coronary care unit, I silently prayed, “Lord, I can’t do anything about this – I’m in your hands and it’s all up to You and the medical staff.” Throughout the evening, as nurses and technicians came to perform their assigned tasks to prep me, I consciously asked about them, their families and their lives: “Where did you go to school (UK, yay: U of L, boooooo)”; “Do you attend church?”; “What about your family?, etc – ANYTHING to keep my mind off me. At 5:30 AM the next morning, the OR orderly came for me, festooned in a huge gold and red University of Louisville medallion on a gold chain: obviously, I said something about whether I should trust him or not. “Well”, he said, laughing, “Maybe I should just park you in an empty elevator shaft!” – but I do remember rolling into that operating room. So, recently, we celebrated the 76th birthday of my body, but I’m really only 16 years old and still preaching the Grace of God.
Thanking God for that divine intervention! Knowing two of you personally I’m horrified to imagine your end coming in such a violent and sudden way! May God give your remaining time on earth much joy and impact!
My aunt & uncle put up their tombstone decades before their passing. A young man new to the faith said, “How morbid!” I said, “How helpful” (a la Thomas a Kempis)!
Alan Ahlgrim, I think my husband was your college roommate at Milligan. His name was Thomas Crafton. He died of pneumonia 27 years ago, which verifies that no one knows when they will die. You are certainly blessed by God to have lived through the crash. I pray His continued blessing as you continue to serve Him.
It may not be every day that you get a tangible example of how God providentially answers your prayers for “travel mercies,” but this one will be with me forever! We have a tendency to just “go through the motions” of praying for His protection, but this reminder is that God is trusted in every breath!
May I encourage the reader of this article how encouraging it is to others when we tell our stories and experiences of God’s provision? This, I believe, is part of the “give reason for the hope that is within you” in a gentle and respectful way.
I do appreciate the “band of brothers” more since our bonds have been increased by our experience together!
I’ve known Allen for over 30 years. His story reminded me of David Watson and his wife, Jan, telling about David’s accident miracle. He, along with myself and probably all 5 of the men in Alan’s account, were taught that miracles don’t happen anymore–I always thought God could do what He wanted to do. Watson had already seen many miracles in His mission work, first in North India and later in other parts of the world.
The accident closed all 10 lanes of I-20 in the DFW area. EMTs had to cut him out of his car. In the ambulance he was conscious long enough to press 5 on his cell phone connecting him to his wife, Jan, to let her know what happened. She immediately contacted their prayer team of 1,000+ around the world. When he became conscious in the ER he heard the doctor tell his wife that the X-rays and scans showed internal injuries that were too extensive to do anything.
Watson then hopped of the gurney and went over and tapped the doctor on the shoulder. The doctor asked, “What happened?” Watson asked, “Are you a believer?” He responded, “I’m an elder of an Assemblies of God church.” Watson said, Take off your doctor hat and put on your elder hat. The doctor began dancing saying he had a genuine documented miracle.
Watson and his wife tell that miracle story in one of 30+ lessons he has at https://sheepamongwolves.thinkific.com/courses/disciple-making-with-david-watson.