The car in front of us pulled out as the light turned green.
I watched it happen. A car coming through the intersection, ran the red light and without touching her brakes, the driver t-boned the unsuspecting food-delivery car directly in front of us.
It was a bad.
We pulled around the wreck and pulled over on the on ramp to the interstate. The wreck was about 100 yards back under an overpass. This is all important information for my story.
My hubby, the SWOON-WORTHY hero type, told me to call 911 and he jumped out and ran back to the scene.
He pulled the poor food-delivery boy out of his car. He was hurt, but conscious. Somebody wasn’t gettin’ their dinner that night.
I dialed 911.
“911 what’s your emergency?”
“Yes, there’s been a wreck and we are the only witnesses. We are here on the scene now.”
“Ok ma’am. Where are you?”
“We are at the intersection of East Kings Hwy and I-49.”
“East Kings Hwy and 49? Is that correct?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Ok. Let me see. Are you sure that’s where you are?”
“umm…. I looked around… Yes.”
I mean come on, why the third degree.
“Ok ma’am. We are sending units your way.”
“Ok thank you.”
5 minutes passed, no police, no ambulance…nothing.
I could see the hubs sitting on the ground with the victim, who was holding his arm in wincing pain.
My phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Uh yes ma’am, this is the Fire Department and we are looking for the accident you called about.”
“Ok. We’re under the overpass at the intersection of East Kings Hwy and I-49.”
“Ma’am, we’re under the overpass and we don’t see an accident.”
“What? We’re right here. You know how you pass Taco Bell, McDonald’s and then there’s an overpass…”
“Yes ma’am….that’s where we are.”
“Well, we are too. We’re right there. Hold on one second.”
I jumped out of the car and hollered at the hero-hubby, “Babe!!! Babe!!!”
He looked up at me confused.
“Where are we??”
He literally didn’t respond just kept on helping the poor soul who was STILL wincing in pain on the side of the interstate.
I hopped out of the car and jogged back the 100 yards to where the accident took place.
“Ok sir,” I continued with the fireman, ” I am headed back to the overpass and I will wave my arms when I get there.”
“Ok ma’am. But there is no accident here.”
“Hold on one sec,” I rounded the corner prepared to feverishly flag them down when the realization hit.
“Oh…that’s because we are not at the intersection of East Kings Hwy and I-49…
“BABE!! WHERE ARE WE?!?”
My confused hubby shouted, “What do you mean?? Corner of Pierremont and I-49 under the overpass.”
“Sir….I’m sorry. You’re right. We’re not there because we’re here. Corner of I-49 and Pierremont Rd.”
I hung my head low as I made the walk of shame back to our car, passing the sweet boy STILL writhing on the ground in pain and my hubby looking at me in disbelief.
My bad y’all. Sorry about it.
Units arrived within minutes and the scene was quickly handled by local law enforcement.
Quickly handled, but not near as quick as it could’ve been.
Again, my bad.
PS: After re-telling this story to my family around the dinner table, I was informed that the two streets I told the 911 operator never actually intersect. East Kings Hwy NEVER meets I-49. KINGS Hwy does.
Eye-roll…minor details.
PPS: Shout out to the poor friend who was actually the victim twice, once in a car wreck and secondly a victim of my lack of awareness. I don’t know your name but I do know you work for Go-Waiter…if you’re reading this… so sorry. It’s the thought that counts?? A for Effort??
“When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked!
They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze,
the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
Genesis 3 MSG
Where are you?
When God asks a question it’s not because he lacks the answer.
He asks the question because we need to know the answer.
It’s what marks a relational God. His willingness to ask us questions that He doesn’t need to ask.
His grace-poured-out is shown when he begs a question that uncovers a radical truth that we are actually, whether we know it or not, desperate for.
God’s question to Adam wasn’t simply a geographical question. Where are you in the garden? What are your coordinates?
It was that, but it was also so much more.
He asked them physically where they were to highlight the point that they weren’t in plain sight… they were hiding.
God didn’t lack the ability to find them. He wanted them to feel the sting of the knowledge that they were in fact hiding from their Creator-Friend-God who they were accustomed to meeting face-to-face. They had an unhindered friendship with God until this very moment.
Where are you?
He wanted them to come to terms with where they truly were.
They were hiding, in shame, fully aware of their nakedness and now broken because of sin.
Where are you?
Such a simple question but one that carries massive heart-shifting implications if we’re willing to answer it.
This is a question I’ve learned the rhythm of asking on a regular basis. Where am I? Where’s my heart? Where’s my mind?
Answering this question has shifted entire parts of my heart towards healing and growth and towards a depth of friendship with the Lord that has radically changed me.
When I ask, “Where am I Lord?”, He answers. Sometimes it’s not so fun to have to own up to where I’m at when I’m crouched behind a bush hiding in shame.
But what happens if we don’t answer the question?
We delay help. We delay healing. We delay becoming exactly who He has hand-crafted us to be.
We continue to lay on the side of the interstate STILL in excruciating pain. We stay in the rut of complete denial.
Friend, be brave enough to answer this question today!
Where are you?
Where are you in your relationship with God? Are you present? Are you hiding? Are you absent all together?
Where are you in your marriage? Your parenting? Your friendships?
Where are you in your mind? Your thoughts? The lies you may be believing?
Where are you in your calling? Are you walking out who you were meant to be? Are you taking risks for the kingdom? Or are you crouched somewhere behind a bush called “safety” or “comfort”?
Where are you?
