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| Ken and Lindsay 2011 |
A few years ago, my husband flipped his Honda Accord. The highway was dry that day, but his left tire ventured just far enough over the line to find some ice, causing his right tires to grab the car and toss it over into the ditch on the right.
Thankfully, though the car was in bad shape, Ken wasn’t hurt. In fact, when he realized that (thankfully again!) no other cars were involved, he grabbed his laptop and began walking toward the next exit. Minutes later, some kind soul pulled over and gave him a ride to work.
Back at his desk, Ken called a tow truck, then resumed his day. So forty-five minutes after rolling his car, Ken was leading a meeting. He didn’t expect the meeting to be interrupted by the receptionist downstairs, who said State Trooper Groya had stopped by for a friendly chat.
Ken had never been in the back of a state trooper car before. But there, at the front entrance of Amway, he got to stare through the car’s cage and listen to a reading of laws about accidents.Ā Apparently, the law did not allow for going to work after you flip your car into a ditch. He was charged with ‘fleeing the scene of an accident’ by a not-so-chipper Groya.
Ken had to pay some big bucks for a lawyer to help him get the charges dropped. And next time he flips his car, (hopefully he won’t!) he’ll know to call the authorities, even if he doesn’t need help. (And now you know, too!)
I think that Ken’s mistake is such an easy one to make. We crash some part of our lives with a divorce or an addiction or a secret sin. We look around and say, “I’m fine. Nobody else is hurt. I’m moving on.” We have no idea that our mistake has implications for anybody else. But, oh how it does. The consequences we create for others might not be outlined in any law book, but they are forceful enough to alter entire courses of life.
The next time you crash some part of your life (hopefully you won’t!), look beyond the implications for yourself. Don’t ‘flee the scene’. Pick up the phone and call for help. And the most important help comes from Ā the Lord.
Hey Shannon,
Wasn't this back when Ken refused to carry a cell phone because he didn't want to be “accessible”? Ha.
You got it, Renee. š He does have a cell phone now, but he left it in his pocket while he was digging a pit (he says he's a busy guy and was expecting some calls…) and the sand and water which also made it into his pocket made the phone all garbly. So he's not completely accessible. But he CAN make a call if he rolls his car. š