It’s been a week since I came about 20 seconds away from the most devastating day of my life.  Typing that just feels crazy, but the events of last Monday are even crazier.  I’ve debated on even writing this post, because it’s not really my story to tell and I don’t want to cause someone to relive a very traumatic moment.   I was not on “the bus” (what we’ve taken to referring to the accident as).  However, what I feel God saying to me is that I didn’t have to be on the bus to see what His hand did that day.  And boy did we see His hand. It was undeniable.

I woke up last Monday in paradise (aka Hawaii).  I had left the Diamond trip a day early, so I was one of the few Diamonds not in California still.   I walked out to the lanai (you know, the fancy Hawaiian word for a patio) bright and early at 5:45 in the morning.  Bobby was sitting there already and the first words out of his mouth were “do you know what happened?”  Immediately my mind starts reeling “bomb? terrorist attack? kids sick?” I hate that my mind even goes to “terrorist attack” immediately, but it is what it is. In a million years I never expected the next words out of his mouth to be “there was a bad wreck on the way to the airport…” Y’all. I felt the blood drain out of my face and I immediately grabbed my phone to see what on earth was going on.

It became crystal clear throughout the day as I started hearing more and more what happened, that we had seen a miracle.  There is no other way to describe it.  Every time I hear someone recount what happened, it becomes even more clear that God intervened.  Why? I have no idea.  Tragedies happen daily.  Why were my friends different?  I can’t answer that, but I can tell you that I am so very grateful.  I will fully admit that I spent my day in a beach chair doing nothing but stalking facebook to see updates from my friends.  My heart was aching not being able to see them. To hug them. To tell them I loved them. When I started reading their accounts, I hid behind the cabana portion of my chair and cried.  The tears just would not stop.

For those that do not know what happened, I’ll give a brief version.  At about 5:45 in the morning (Pacific time) about 20 diamonds and their spouses/guests boarded a charter bus to head to the airport to continue on to Hawaii.  We were at the gorgeous Terranea resort, which just happens to be located on cliffs overlooking the ocean.  The bus driver turned out of the resort and very shortly after turning through a roundabout and continued going straight down a very very steep long embankment.  He was having a medical event (a heart attack is what I have heard).  It was pitch black and no one could see what was happening, they were all certain they were headed straight into the ocean.  They hit many trees (among other things) on the way down before landing in a neighborhood and hitting a fire hydrant.  One of our friends heroically was trying to stop the bus. At least one or 2 others tried with every fiber of their being to save the bus driver’s life after the crash.  I’m 100% sure I’m not describing every detail in full accuracy, because as I said, I was not on the bus. I heard friends describe looking in their spouses eye and saying that they loved each other.  Saying goodbye.  Bracing for impact. I can’t…

Now here are where they goosebumps begin…  I’m going to start recounting the miracles one by one.  Because when God works a miracle, every last detail should be told.   Psalms 78:4 talks about telling the praiseworthy things and acts of power that God has done so that others don’t forget. To me this is praiseworthy and an act of God only. There were NO babies on that bus and there “should” have been a couple.  One of my sweet friends just the week before decided that her husband and baby were not going to continue on to Hawaii and had left the day before to head back to Arkansas.  She was on the bus alone.  Another couple with their sweet little one was told the bus was too full.  They were turned away immediately before the bus drove away.  When I say I was 20 seconds away from the most devastating day of my life, I’m not exaggerating.  If the bus had driven any further.  A few hundred yards, a quarter mile, 20 seconds… they would have driven off a cliff. Into the ocean. I feel sick just thinking of it. One possible delay (thank you Jesus for intervening), our friends that had loaded one suitcase on the bus only to be told a few minutes later that there was not room for their other two.  They had to hunt down that suitcase before the bus left so they could catch the next one with all their luggage.  20 seconds.  What seemed like inconveniences that day are likely the very things that saved my friends. I’ve heard from many that it made no sense the direction in which the bus went down the hill.  Straight down.  If it had come at an angle or continued in the direction it appeared to be going,  it likely could have flipped.  Miracle.  The very tree that some thought was going to be what killed them was ACTUALLY what slowed the bus down enough to stop.  They stopped very close to a gas tank, but did not hit it.  There are so many other things that I am sure I am missing, but it was one act of divine intervention after another.

This bus was full of people that love the Lord with every fiber of their heart, soul and mind.  I have no doubt that so much glory is going to be given to God over every detail of this day.  But what if the worst had happened?  I’m so grateful to know that they would have been in His presence.  We don’t always get miracles.  So many times we pray for them, we beg for them and they just don’t come.  Even in the dark, He is still there.  But when we do get miracles… we need to be shouting them from the rooftops.  They still can happen.  We just have to be looking.  Those things… you know the ones that feel like such irritations… they might be the very thing in your life that God uses to keep you from going over that cliff.  We might not always get to see the very obvious outcome like we did on that day last week.  But when we do, we proclaim it. 

The above picture is one I’ll cherish forever.  Two of my miracles are in that picture.  I came 20 seconds from never hugging their necks or laughing with them again.  God in His grace allowed me to hug them,  cry with them and laugh with them all last week in Hawaii.  This picture was taken just after many of the tears so it is etched in my heart.  These are just two of the people I loved that were on the bus, there were so many more… To each of you: I love you all. If I haven’t already found you and told you that,  I do.  I’m praying for each of you as you navigate this new path.  The path after “the bus”. I know you are in unfamiliar waters. Know that you have a bunch of warriors praying fervently on your behalf.  He didn’t leave you that day and He hasn’t left you now.

None of us know when we won’t get those 20 seconds.  Only He knows the hours we have left.   So love your people and love them well.