SEVEN YEARS AGO, my husband went out on Christmas Eve to pick up some clothes at the dry cleaners. About an hour after he left, a large police cruiser pulled into our driveway. The moment before I saw my husband get out of the vehicle was sickening. I thought they had come to tell me of his death.

But he emerged from the cruiser. His head was cut up. He was shaken and he had large shopping bags in his hands. Here is the story of his adventure.

My husband was driving along Mall Boulevard (yes, there is such a road) to get to the cleaners. He was passing by the entrance to the Toys R Us store, the parking lot still full even though it was Christmas Eve, when a woman drove out of the entrance without looking. My husband had no time to stop and she rammed into the side of his car. It spun around and then went careening across the median strip. It crossed the opposing lanes of traffic and came to a stop on the shoulder before bursting into flames,  all in a matter of seconds.

To the police, this was just another day at the mall, a country unto itself with robberies, sudden deaths, and other tragedies. My husband’s head and chest hit the steering wheel. One of his ribs was broken and his forehead was badly cut. He got out of the car and waited for help. The fire department immediately arrived. Fortunately, before they doused the car, my husband came to his senses. Our children’s Christmas presents were in the trunk. We had no place to hide them in the house so we kept them in the car. He heroically went back to the flaming vehicle, opened the trunk and started to hand a police officer the presents, all of them wrapped in cheap drug store paper.

The car was destroyed, but the presents were saved. My husband was alive. This was just a mishap. But we were unnerved by it all and he did not feel well on Christmas. We decided there was something wrong about going anywhere near the mall that day. What a stupid thing to do. We now have a rule. My husband does not go out on Christmas Eve. Not for anything. Let others go to the toy store and the cleaners. Let others rescue gifts from flaming cars. There comes an hour when all that has to come to an end.

                                                       — Comments —

Lisa writes:

Bravo! And praise God for His Providential protection. And stay away from the mall on Christmas Eve, if not always.

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