Our Stories
Opportunity Knocks - what do YOU do?
By Erik Godo | posted 03/04/2010
"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'" (Mark 16:15)
My old '97 Saturn was rear-ended and totaled over a year ago. I was hit pretty hard and the car's frame got crinkled. My head hurt for a few hours but luckily I had a good headrest so I was fine. I have a retired Microsoft friend who was getting rid of his 1998 V-8 Lexus since he wanted to go green and get a hybrid. He started out at $12K and was lowering the price (only 73K miles). He was finally at about $8500 when my car was totaled so I bought it. The rear bumper it had was really marked up. I went crazy with the touch-up paint when I got the car but still it was "funny" looking since some of the gouges were pretty deep.
The Lexus was run into in the rear last October sitting at a stop light going to Lars' soccer practice at Marymoor. Cindy was turned in her seat so she got some ribs out of joint and a neck that had to be reset. I went to her chiropractor and got my bad posture fixed, learned how to breathe and how to walk (that's another story). The Lexus then had a totally new bumper ($2000 or so) so it looks pretty nice.
Well, I got hit in the rear again today. Sitting at a stop light on Old Redmond Road on my way to work.
Needless to say I was a "bit grumpy" about being hit again! Did my kids scribble "hit me" with their fingers in the dirt on my rear window? The impact was light however so I hoped for minimal damage. So I drove around to pull off the road and the car that hit me followed me. It was a big white Ford Explorer. Finally we found a place to pull off and we stopped. I hopped out and I and this short Spanish-accent lady dressed in what looked like a mechanics uniform looked over my bumper. There was a slight impression of her car's license in the dirt on the bumper, but really no visible damage. I said "you weren't texting were you?" She said no, she got from her friend some CDs on the book of John and she never has time to read the Bible so she was sticking it in the CD player and then she hit me - she said she couldn't tell a lie. I said really - can you show me them. I thought they might be Keith Ferrin CD's but they weren't - I told her a bit about what Keith does and she said they had more explanation of what it meant and that was what she really wanted. I said if you want a church to go to I have one - Creekside - up in Redmond Junior High. I told her to search on Creekside Church Redmond and she would find it. She wrote it down and said - oh, that's on her way to work. She was taking her daughter's sweats to Rose Hill Junior High. So we said goodbye and left.
And of course then came the thought, God probably had her hit me on purpose … and just the right amount (no damage).
Since we are so busy/things to do/places to go, I only gave her the Creekside name. So my caution to you is to be aware of events like these handed to you. And slow down and invest the time in them when they show up. Thinking about it now I should have given her my name and number and asked her to call if she had any questions about the book of John or Creekside or whatever. I should have asked her what did she need me to pray for, and done it right then. No I'm not agonizing over it - except in this FYI - but I see a missed opportunity now. So slow down and invest fully when you have the chance. And be ready. Because it will come. Probably sooner than you think.
Erik can be reached via email here.
