December 2003
Jesus Intervenes to Bring Healing to Body and Spirit Following a Near Fatal Accident

The morning was not extraordinary. I was traveling to work down the Interstate in my '67 Mustang. Traffic was just beginning to jam up. I was forced to come to a stop. The gentleman behind me was occupied tuning his radio and never even hit his brakes. Moments after I came to a halt, the Chevy Suburban he was driving plowed into the back of my car.

In a collision, one problem with '67 Mustangs is that the gas tank is right under the trunk at the back end of the car. The Suburban tore through the gas tank. My car exploded in a ball of fire as it careened through the air across a lane of traffic to land in the median.

I have almost no recollection of the time surrounding the accident, only reconstructions based on police reports and the deposition of the gentleman driving the Suburban. But I do remember the EMT in the ambulance telling me that I was lucky that I got out of the car myself, since there was no way they could have cut me out.

The police report, witness testimony, and the driver of the Suburban all agreed. They watched me open the door, get out, and walk away. However, many of the doctors who have seen me insist that I was unconscious. I had to be to have the type of concussion I had. So how does an unconscious man rise and walk away?

The accident left me with a number of functional defects, including a terrible anxiety while driving. I was eventually referred to a psychologist who treated me for this problem. He opened all sessions with prayer. His belief was that, given the right opportunity, the brain will heal itself.

An even greater blessing came from the treatment. My instructions were to concentrate on something simple—a moving object—and to describe whatever images or ideas popped into my head. Many things did, but as we accessed my memories of the accident, the visions that I had were incredible.

I saw myself seated in my car, staring into the rear view mirror. In it, I saw death - the classic figure in the black cloak with the skull face. He was sitting in the flames that had engulfed the car, trying to reach me, but he couldn't. Then I found myself standing beside Jesus, looking at myself still in the car, still facing death. Jesus told me he loved me; that I should look at him and not at death. Then a figure in white pulled me from the car and led me away from it to safety.

The entire experience was surreal and strange. In many ways it seems fanciful and just the result of my brain trying to explain something that I cannot remember. That's certainly the easy answer. I can't believe that, though. I know the only way I was able to escape that car was through the miraculous intervention of God. That recognition leads me to the inevitable conclusion that I am here for a purpose; that God placed me here for a reason and is not through with me yet. That realization has changed me irrevocably, as it must.

Remarkably, since my treatment, I no longer experience any anxiety while driving. Is it a miracle of science? I think not. And neither did my psychologist.

-by Ted Cox

Ted Cox is a Barclay College student. He is also a producer, director, and editor of film and video projects with a goal to bring together church ministries and people who need to experience God in a relevant and accessible way. Ted, his wife, and three children are under appointment with Greater Europe Mission.