clipping

    A matter of seconds was the difference between escape to safety - injuries and possible death for three persons five miles south of Henderson yesterday afternoon.
     Shortly before 4 o'clock, South bound Seaboard Air Line passenger train No. 3 crashed into a 1936 Pontiac coach at a grade crossing a half mile north of Union Chapel Church resulting in injuries to Randolph Edwards, 16 Maurice Lee Edwards, Jr. 18 and Lou Ellen Granger 9, the auto had all but cleared the crossing when the diesel engine struck it at the left rear side tossing it about ten feet from the tracks.
     Most seriously, though not critically hurt was Randolph Edwards, who had a fractured shoulder, two fractured ribs, lacerations and possible concussion of the brain, according to authorities at Maria Parham Hospital where the victims were carried for treatment. His condition was said to be satisfactory.
     Investigating Highway Patrol officers reported that Maurice Lee Edwards, Jr. was driving the car and apparently failed to see the approaching train. He suffered cuts and bruises, while the Granger child daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie C. Granger, sustained cuts about the head and right leg. They were treated at the hospital, then discharged.
     The vehicle, its trunk door wrenched from the body and catapulted through the air for some fifty feet, was considerably damaged; the rear end was virtually demolished and it came to rest on its left side across a ditch, parallel to the railroad tracks.
     The accident occurred on a comparatively straight stretch of track, although visibility from the road was not good, toward the north, from which direction the train came, as the track is somewhat elevated above the road at that point. Traveling east after turning off from U. S. Highway route one the auto was headed across the railroad toward the Granger home. In one or two seconds it would have been clear of the tracks entirely, a second earlier it would have caught the full impact of the blow in its mid-section.

The Lord watches out for his sheep and won't let them leave this earth until they receive the Baptism of the holy Ghost. He may allow things to happen to us to get our attention and cause us to seek him. And we may not realize it until years later.

Reproduced below is a newspaper clipping about just such an event that happened to me as a little child. God was merciful to me that day. It was a miracle that I wasn't hurt worse, as I wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

Herein lies the miracle:

Not reported in the above article, is the fact that as the car was tossed into the air for 50 feet, I was thrown out of the car like a rag doll. I landed on the ground, then the car came down on top of me where the back passenger door had been torn off! I was huddled inside the car with only a part of my right leg sticking out. I know that God spared me so I could worship Him later with my brothers and sisters in Spirit and in Truth.