By Lizhi, China
Life and death is a matter of an instant. In an accident, the author of this article was run over by a tractor and trailer carrying five or six tons of sand, but miraculously, she narrowly escaped death and afterward, made a good recovery from her injuries. So, what exactly did she experience in that time?
In an accident, I am run over by a tractor and trailer.
It was around 11:00 a.m. on the sixth day of the eighth lunar month. I was on my way home after running some errands in the town, and it suddenly began to rain gently. Thinking that our newly-harvested corn was outside, I cycled home quickly. Only when I came to a gentle down-ward gravel slope about five meters wide did I find that there were no brakes on my bicycle. At the time, I was riding like the wind, and a large tractor and trailer laden with sand was heading toward me (The tractor has four wheels, two small ones in the front and two large ones in the back, and the trailer has two 1000R wheels). Thereupon, I started riding cautiously close to the right-hand side. This road was rough, full of holes, and only the part I rode along was smoother. Suddenly, the tractor and trailer turned toward me to avoid a hole. It was only five or six meters from me and was coming barreling to me, while my bicycle was racing forward, unable to stop. At that time, I tried to jump off the bicycle but failed, and then I had to turn left to evade the tractor and trailer, as to the right was a miry ditch over two meters deep. Unexpectedly, just as I got to the middle of the road, the tractor and trailer was again running to me after detouring the hole. At the moment, it was too late to dodge and I thought, “I’m done for. I’m dead. It seems that an accident is inevitable.” So, I prayed to the Lord, asking Him to receive my soul. Just then, the tractor and trailer knocked me off the bicycle, slamming into the ground my left shoulder and the left side of my head, and before I could react, its two right wheels ran over the right side of my waist. I ended up lying on my side, legs curled up. Surprisingly, I felt no pain, nor did I feel scared in my heart.
Then, I turned over and lay flat on my back. Opening my eyes, I found myself lying between the tractor and the trailer, and that the right wheel of the trailer was rolling toward my stomach. I thought that if the tractor and trailer stopped now, I would be able to crawl out from under it, but it showed no signs of slowing down. I was so afraid that it felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest. I thought, “What should I do? If I heave myself up to crawl out, my head may be scraped by the undercarriage of the tractor and trailer, and I’ll die; if I move my legs under the trailer, I won’t be crushed, but if I fail to do that in time, my legs will be broken. …” As I was thinking about this, the tractor and trailer ran over my stomach, but I didn’t feel pain as if something had lifted the wheel, and my mind was also very clear. Finally, the tractor and trailer stopped ten meters away from me. The driver and the other person quickly got off the tractor and rushed over to me. I found that the driver was shaking with fear. They got me up, one on either side, and let me try walking to see how bad my injuries were. At that moment, I felt drained of strength, unable to stand, and my stomach was like a deflated rubber ball, as if something in it was missing. Before I had walked a few steps, I felt a tearing pain all over my body and was unable to move my left arm as if it had been broken. Clutching my stomach with my right hand, I said weakly, “Please, I can’t bear the pain; let me lie down.” They did as I said. Then the driver went to find a vehicle as the other man stayed with me. While I was lying on the ground, I found that my left scapula hurt unbearably, my stomach was in a lot of pain, and my upper part couldn’t move; the rest part of my body didn’t feel uncomfortable. I thought, “I still have a clear mind after such a terrible accident. This is really down to the Lord’s protection!” I therefore kept thanking the Lord in my heart, “Lord, I thought I would surely die after being run over, but little did I think that I’m still fully conscious and that I can even walk. Lord, thank You, this is all Your care and protection!” My heart was filled with gratitude to the Lord.
After about twenty minutes, the driver was driving a three-wheeler back all flustered. They then carried me onto it and rushed to the hospital. On the way, I continually called out to the Lord to save me, and I recalled how the Lord Jesus resurrected the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue. With one word, the Lord Jesus raised her from the dead. I was still alive after being run over. Wasn’t this the Lord saving me? Wasn’t it also in the Lord’s hands whether I lived or died? When this occurred to me I felt very at ease in my heart.
Not long after, we arrived at the town hospital. There the doctor took an X-ray for me, which indicated a fracture of my scapula. Then he checked up on me by pressing my stomach, and strangely enough, I felt no pain at all. The doctor said in surprise, “Your stomach is actually all right after being run over by the heavy tractor and trailer. It really is a miracle! Besides, I’ve never seen such a fracture for thirty years as a doctor—you don’t require a plaster cast and lying on a hard bed is enough. …” Hearing this, I thanked the Lord from the bottom of my heart for His almightiness. I actually didn’t feel pain after having been crushed by a tractor and trailer laden with five or six tons of sand. This was the Lord’s miraculous protection of me! Just as God’s words say, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle on you. For I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:2–3).
During my illness, my faith in the Lord becomes more resolute.
Unexpectedly, the next day, my entire body began to ache. My stomach was agonizingly painful, my left ear swelled up like a loaf of bread and my entire back was stiff as if in a cast. I felt a heart-piercing pain in my back even if I didn’t move, and whenever I moved the slightest amount, my internal organs would start to prickle painfully. The pains deprived me of appetite. I was frightened at the thought that some people didn’t die instantly in a car accident but died after several days. By the doctor’s orders, I rested and received two bottles of IV drip every day to subdue the inflammation, but there was still no improvement. Was my life still in danger? The more I thought about it, the weaker I became in my heart. So I hurriedly prayed to the Lord in my heart, and then I suddenly recalled the miracle of the Lord Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, and I also thought of how the Lord had cured my illness. I had experienced the Lord’s great power and seen that the life of man is in the Lord’s hands and the Lord is almighty, so I couldn’t lose faith in Him. With this in mind, I felt very secure in my heart, and I silently prayed to the Lord, “Lord! The raising of Lazarus is Your power and authority. My survival of the accident is also Your great power, and I also see that man’s life and death are both in Your hands. Lord, how my condition will develop is in Your hands. I wish to believe in You. May You heal me!” After praying, I was no longer fainthearted and afraid.
Later, my husband demanded that the driver transfer me to the county hospital. The doctor there gave me an examination and told me, “The heavy tractor and trailer has caused you intestinal obstruction and in your stomach is blood extravasation. But there is no serious problem. Just receive IV drips for several days to remove blood stasis, and you’re gonna be fine. Your broken bone will mend after you stay on a hard bed for a period of time.” Hearing what he said, I knew I was out of danger, and it felt like the great weight pressing down on me was lifted. That night I, who hadn’t slept for three days and nights, fell asleep without realizing it while on a drip. In the days that followed, my pain was gradually lessening, and my back wasn’t stiff; I could eat, my sleep became normal, and my spirits kept on improving. Thank the Lord. That I made such a quick recovery was entirely due to the Lord’s care and protection. Just as the Bible says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You: because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3).
I have the Lord’s love with me all along.
After my hospital stay of six days, the doctor said that nothing was seriously wrong with me and that all I need was to lie flat in bed and he advised me to go home for recuperation. Over the first three months I spent at home, I read the Bible in bed every day. One day, I saw the Bible say, “He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust” (Psalm 91:2). “A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:7). “Because you have made Jehovah, which is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation; There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:9–12). As I contemplated these verses, I thought, “I didn’t die in such a serious accident, wasn’t this God’s hands supporting me? If not, how could I have borne the pressure of the tractor and trailer laden with sand? God’s power is so great.” Thinking like this increased my faith in God and I trusted that God would cure me.
Three months later, my bones were healing well without using a cast or steel plates; I could raise my arms and move around. After another month, I was able to do some simple tasks around the house, such as cooking, doing the laundry, and so on. However, since I could not do heavy work and I had chest and hipbone pains while kneeling in prayer, occasionally I was worried that there would be some after-effects. One day, during my spiritual devotions, I saw in the Bible that after the son of the Shunammite woman died, the prophet Elisha prayed for him and raised him. From this story, I received great inspiration: Because the Shunammite woman truly worshiped God and had faith in Him, God brought her dead son back to life through Elisha. God’s power is everywhere. I had been recovering these days, so would I not be able to fully recover？At that moment, I felt a little ashamed—my faith in God was still small. I believed that however great our faith in God determines how great God’s deeds we will witness. From then on, I was no longer anxious about whether there would be some lingering effects.
Six months later, I could ride a bicycle to attend meetings and spread the gospel, and could gradually do a little harder housework. I could do farming work in fields after another four months. One year later, I was almost recovered and seemed like a normal person except that I could hardly turn over when sleeping. Seeing me like this, the villagers were all surprised, and some said, “It’s amazing that you’re still alive after being run over by the heavily loaded tractor and trailer.” Hearing this, I couldn’t help but offer my thanks and praise to the Lord in my heart—this was all thanks to the Lord’s protection and He had given me a second chance at life.
Having tasted the Lord’s grace, I give thanks for His love.
I remembered that not long after the accident, when my sister came to see me, she said to me, “We believers in the Lord have His care and protection, so you can live through the accident. Thank the Lord for His almightiness. Shortly after your accident, when a couple from XX village were transporting bricks, somehow the woman fell off the vehicle and it happened to run over her stomach. As a result, her bowels gushed out and she died at the scene.” After listening to this, I was even more grateful to God for saving me. I also thought of a couple in the village nearby. When they were driving their tractor and trailer home from selling their corn, the woman’s hat blew off and she jumped down to get it, but before her husband could stop the vehicle, it ran over her head and killed her on the spot. When I pondered over these things, I couldn’t help praising the Lord’s great power. I saw that in disasters, believers in the Lord have His care and protection, while unbelievers can only suffer the assault—the distinction lies in believing and not believing.
Thinking back on the road I’ve been down, I’ve truly beheld the Lord’s love and protection for me. Otherwise, who else had the ability to save me with my body entirely intact when I was run over by the heavy tractor and trailer? Crushed by three wheels, I would have burst open in the middle even if I hadn’t died. Thinking of the Lord’s love, tears of gratitude could not stop flowing from my eyes. It was the Lord who had given me a second life.