I never saw what happened to the other car.

I was sitting at the red light, attempting to change the radio station because I didn’t like the song that was playing. My hand never made it to the dial.

I’m not sure what made me look up. Perhaps it was a nudge from God, or maybe something shiny that I saw out of the corner of my eye. All I saw when I looked up was the hood ornament of a white Mercedes as it barreled into the front end of my car.

I don’t remember the initial impact. I don’t remember hitting my head against the headrest.

What I do remember was my screaming. I had never been so terrified in my life.

The police report said that the white Mercedes was attempting a left turn when its driver saw a red Jeep coming from the opposite direction. The driver of the Mercedes was expecting the Jeep to turn right, but instead it came straight through the intersection.

The Mercedes hit the Jeep, and both cars lost control. The Jeep hit the concrete median, causing the car to flip on its side. The white Mercedes struck my car head- on, pushing my car sideways into oncoming traffic.

I never saw the Jeep.

I find myself looking back on this experience and wondering if there was anything I could have done to prevent this. So far, I’ve come up with nothing. It took me awhile to realize that it was not my fault that this happened.

I can’t go back in time and change the outcome, and honestly, I’m not sure I want to.

This experience has reminded me of how blessed I am, and I am a stronger person because of it.

Our past defines who we are. We must learn to accept the past, embrace it, mourn for it, glorify it and learn from it.Then we must let it go.

We fix the car. We start the engine. We drive forward. We move on.