Testimony
Finding Grace
God saved you by his grace when you believed . You can ’ t take credit for salvation ; it is a gift from God . Since salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done . None of us can boast about it . [ Ephesians 2:8-9 ]
It had been such a pretty little car . It was black with a spoiler and burgundy red interior . It had low mileage and a sweet sound system with a USB plug-in for music . My husband and I surprised our son with it after he had received his license . No more having to get a driver whenever he wanted to go somewhere , he had his own wheels , and insurance . Life was good . Something snapped in me the day I saw it behind a chain link fence with blood on the interior , on the dash , and along the window .
The car had been in two accidents although the police only knew about the one after which they arrested our very drunk son and charged him with Driving Under the Influence ( DUI ), Underage Possession of Alcohol , Possession of Illegal Substance under an ounce ( pot ), and Failure to Maintain Lane . The first accident happened when he hit an uphill embankment . He remembers nothing of either accident , or of calling me at the scene of the second one .
It was a beautiful Saturday evening in May , about 6:30 PM . My husband and I were attending a gala event organized by our community every year to raise money for charity . Adam ( name changed ), our son , had been out when we left for the evening ; thus , when my cell phone rang and displayed his number , I assumed he was at home wondering what was for supper . When I answered , he was crying that his car was wrecked . He could not tell me where he was but said someone was at the scene with him and he gave her the phone . A voice said . “ Your son is okay , but his car isn ’ t and when the police show up , he will be arrested .” I could hear sirens in the background and my son yelling that he was fine ; he didn ’ t need the EMT ’ s . We raced from the event , driving everywhere around the surrounding area , on back roads and main roads looking for him . I tried his number over and over again . Finally , a policeman answered Adam ’ s phone and told us that our son was under arrest and was going to jail .
Adam had gone to visit a friend that afternoon to celebrate their pending graduation from high school . He had drunk most of a half-gallon of vodka . The scene where he was arrested showed his car over a 15-foot embankment with the passenger side against a tree . I didn ’ t realize how much worse the accident could have been until the day I stood looking at the car in the junkyard . It was just a couple of days after the accident and Adam was still bruised and angry with himself over what had happened . I looked at him and the car , and that ’ s when I knew that God loved him more than I ever could and that he had given him grace . Adam did not know it yet and even when he figured it out , he went on to fight it and continues to do so today . Hitting that first embankment should have been enough to stop him , but he continued down the road . With more than the normal amount of traffic and people around because of the gala event , it was a
______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12 Spring