It’s funny how the most random of experiences can teach you about the Lord’s love and miracles. Who would have thought that a colliding with a moose on a highway could bring about miracles?
(Gory picture warning.)
It all started on Friday, September 7, 2018. Friday the 7th. Should have been lucky Friday. But, nope. Taylee, my daughter came home sobbing from school because she had not made the volleyball team….again. It was her second year of trying. She was sad. And I was sad. And I was also having a not-so-good day, so we cuddled together and I let her cry it out. Then I thought of an idea. “Let’s go to Edmonton today. Let’s go spend some time with McKaya and Jared.” McKaya is Taylee’s sister and Jared is McKaya’s husband. It seemed like a good idea to just escape and hang out with her kind sister. She agreed right away and after calling Jared, planning to surprise McKaya, we left an hour later to drive the 6 hours to Edmonton to spend the weekend. We enjoyed the time we spent Friday night and Saturday, ate good food, shopped and visited and then Taylee and I began travelling home Sunday afternoon after church. Little did we know our trip would end with an event that would teach us a life-long lesson: that miracles exist and prayers work.
We were southbound on highway 2, about two hours from home, going about 75mph, when we hit a moose without any warning whatsoever. BAM. Here’s what I posted on Facebook a couple of hours after the crash.
So that was Sunday. Monday was a bit of a blur. I was emotional. Yet, today I woke up with more clear thoughts of what a miracle it really was that we were not killed or severely injured. I have looked at the pictures again and again several times, studying them, and honestly I can’t believe how good Taylee and I both feel and how we didn’t have even so much as a scratch on us. We feel completely normal – like nothing ever happened. I keep wondering, how can that be?
The rest of this post comprises of what I felt to share on Facebook this morning:
Yesterday (Monday) was a write off – along with our car. The shock from hitting the moose was wearing off and I was extremely unproductive. I was completely limp…and solemn. I believe I spent more time in bed than not. It was good, though. It gave me lots of time for reflection and the rest my nerves needed. Today is better and just thought I’d share some of the miracles in our accident. Here are some of the tender mercies from the Lord that I have seen in this event:
1 – We decided at the last minute to change our clothes in Edmonton. We were leaving straight from church there and I was in a skirt and heels. Taylee was in a longer dress. But for me, had I not changed out of my skirt, I may have had glass cuts on my legs. My jeans protected my legs. Also, Taylee’s leggings she put on made it easy to brush off the glass. The paramedics commented on the smooth fabric and how easy the glass came off. And our hoodies protected our arms. So glad we took that minute to change back at McKaya’s apartment.
2 – Taylee took Gravol and had reclined her seat to sleep. By the time we got to Calgary, she was awake, but still a little dozy and kept her seat reclined slightly. Normally I would have asked her to sit her seat up. For some reason it didn’t even occur to me to have her sit it up. She also had a blanket over her lap and a pillow behind her head. The recline of her seat prevented the windshield from coming in onto her face when it blew into the vehicle during the crash. The visor was mere inches from her head. She was covered with a splatter of blood, moose hair and glass, but nothing had hit her face or her head.
3 – We hit the moose on one side of the vehicle instead of smack dab in the middle. It was Taylee’s side. Because of this, the A-frame of the vehicle (the frame on the front right) protected the moose from coming into the vehicle on top of us, which would have caused significant injury. If it had been my side, I would have been injured because I was sitting upright. It hit on Taylee’s – which looks really bad in the pictures – but it turned out to be a blessing for both of us. She was protected by reclining, and I was able to drive the vehicle off the road because I was uninjured.
4 – The plastic cover from the air bag on that A-frame, dangled, as a reminder that the airbags were tightly rolled up, un-deployed. The moose must not have hit the sensors, because the “Airbag-ON” light stared at me after the crash. I couldn’t believe it. Though airbags can save in some accidents, in our case, if the airbags had deployed, they would have hurt Taylee – and possibly me – significantly. She is short, and they would have hit her face. And with all the glass shards on us, would have pressed the glass into our skin, causing injury. This was a blessing – because as you know, we did not have a scratch on us. Not even a nick from one glass shard. We were sprayed with glass, but not once piece penetrated anywhere on our bodies. Maybe that’s a coincidence, but I choose to believe it was a miracle.
5 – I didn’t see the moose. I had no time to react or panic. It was just….there. I hit it going between 110-120km/hr. Normally its a good thing to swerve to hit a moose. But I believe a swerve at that speed could have sent us rolling down the highway and into the ditch. It was a blessing I didn’t see it because the hit, though hard, blew the moose off our vehicle. I know if I would have panicked and slowed down, it would have slowed the time when I hit it, which could have placed that moose on our laps through the centre of the vehicle. That speed caused the hit to be hard and fast – in the right place on the vehicle – and with enough power to send the moose into the air behind us instead of onto our roof or through the windshield into our car. I would not recommend it, and had I seen it, I would have certainly slowed down or moved. All advice online says it’s better to hit any other animal at full speed (especially gophers) and that swerving is dangerous, except for a moose! Definitely swerve for a moose! However, in our case, it was a blessing!!! There was so much traffic on that highway and we also avoided hitting another vehicle.
6 – The accident happened only a couple of miles from my sister-in-law/bro-in-law’s place. Mike & Monique Hardy. They arrived along side the paramedics and were able to deal with the police – getting out my registration/license/insurance (The insurance card was missing in my car! I didn’t get a ticket though! Another blessing!) – and moving the contents of our vehicle into theirs – plus taking pictures (thanks Mike!) – all while I dealt with Taylee in the ambulance getting the blood and glass off of her and dealing with the billions of questions. Then they were able to take us back to their home (since we required no hospital) so we could shower and change our clothes. We put on the matching pjs Taylee and I had brought for our girls weekend with McKaya and Monique and Mike then drove us to Nanton where we met Mark. We only got home 2 hours later than originally planned! Not bad! I was so grateful Monique and Mike were there, though. Seriously. She asked how I wasn’t more shaken…and it was because I knew we were safe, with people we knew and loved, and were able to leave the scene quickly with them.
7 – I had a prayer for our safety in our travels just 10 minutes before the incident. I had a feeling – a prompting – that I needed to. So did McKaya back up in Edmonton. In fact, she included prayers for our safety in her blessing on her food at about 8:30 – and the accident happened at 8:40. We were literally praying about the same time for the same thing. Coincidence? I don’t think so. My grandmother had also prayed for our safety in her morning prayers, amongst other friends and relatives too. People: prayer works! This is not a coincidence. Our Father in Heaven always hears our prayers. On LDS.org, it says this about prayer:
“As we make a habit of approaching God in prayer, we will come to know Him and draw ever nearer to Him. Our desires will become more like His. We will be able to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that He is ready to give if we will but ask in faith.”
Our desire was to be safe, and this was also His will. And we prayed and He was ready to give us this blessing. It’s as simple as that. So grateful for the power of prayer.
The female paramedic who had helped Taylee so much, said
“I honestly can’t believe you guys are not hurt. These situations usually don’t turn out this well. You guys are seriously lucky to be alive.”
I told her, “Well, I prayed, and my prayer worked.”
“It certainly did”, she said.
Emotional, she gave me a really big hug. Thank you to all of the first responders who dealt so kindly with us. I think the entourage of vehicles was slightly unnecessary considering the outcome – but I was so grateful for how quick they came and the kindness they showed. Everyone shook their heads in disbelief when they saw the car….and the moose – who did NOT fare well.
8 – Because of this experience, Taylee now knows that prayer works. This is an experience she will never forget. That is a separate miracle because often I pray that my children will develop a strong testimony of the love their Father in Heaven has for them. The Lord has heard that prayer too. She hugged me super tight when we got home and told me she loved me.
All of these things combined – and probably more if I thought longer about it – tell me that a miracle happened. I would say my neck and back hurt, but I think that was more from sleeping on McKaya’s futon than from the accident. We are FINE. Taylee is FINE. We are only mildly shaken from the experience…and I get a new car – which is a perk because on the way home I was thinking about how maybe we could replace the Avalon with something I really liked. HA! The Lord even has a sense of humour.
Feeling THANKFUL for tender mercies and miracles which I know exist! In fact, we can find them in every awful situation because the Lord is always there. There’s a silver lining to every cloud and we can always find blessings in our trials — if we look.
One final thought…I have a sneaking suspicion, my grandfather, Taylee’s great-grandfather, who had passed away exactly two weeks before the accident, was our guardian angel that night – or one of. He and Taylee had a special bond. As a truck driver, he was on the road for years, and I like to think it was him who protected her – and me – that night. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but regardless, we know our ancestors watch over us.
“From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has used angels … in conveying love and concern for His children. … Seen or unseen they are always near” ~ Jeffrey R. Holland
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