Wrecked Up

Yesterday afternoon as I went to pick my kids up from school, I was stopped waiting on a two lane road to turn left into the school's drve-thru. In my rearview mirror, I saw a white car slowing down behind me, and then I looked back at the two cars passing from the opposite direction.

Behind me, I heard THUD!

Looked into my rearview and saw the guy behind me sort of flop and his vehicle being plowed by a green car foward toward mine. I didn't have time to accelerate to avoid the accident before another BUMP -- a crash right into me. I have a pretty darned sturdy SUV, so the damage wasn't too bad on my vehicle. Both other cars had to be towed away. Everyone was alright, I should add.

The long and short of it was that a little sixteen year old kid who had just gotten his license two days ago -- at least from his words -- had his music playing too loud and wasn't paying attention. Later on, he mentioned something about his brakes not working too well, but mainly, the poor kid had his thoughts elsewhere, and we're all lucky no one was hurt too badly. In fact, with his airbags popping on, his bloody nose seemed to be the worst of it. The guy in the white car behind me said he blacked out for a second when first hit, but he was okay after that.

I called my wife, and after all the "Are you okays", "How did it happens?", and "Was it your faults?", she gave me the standard lines of not saying anything... all the stuff you're supposed to do at an accident for insurance purposes. And for the most part, I followed the advice.

But it occurs to me that all of that is hardly Christlike. I actually thought about that at the accident. And I was sort of torn. I told both guys that I was sure glad nobody was hurt, and then I let the kid borrow my cell phone to make a call or two. But anyone there would have hardly mixed me up with being Christ to the other guys. I was too wrapped up in what I should do for insurance purposes, the hassle that this wreck was going to cause, to make sure I pleased my wife with my actions, thinking about getting my kids before their school closed, and with my own introversion. I think I failed in this instance (as I do in most, maybe almost all, I guess), because I was pretty far from being like my Lord to the others involved.

Of course, I'm not altogether sure what exactly I should have done, but I know I could have shown more care than the aloofness I exhibited.

And all this comes on the heels of another member of The Realm -- I won't mention any names -- being involved in his own el accidente. But it's not my place to say anything about that. However, if bad things really do come in threes, then we've got one more on the way.

I wonder what it could be?