3 Things I Learned about God Through a Bear Encounter
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- Updated Jun 06, 2022
Ten days ago, I experienced something incredible. I was driving from Boston to Maryland to visit family with my little dog, a rat terrier named Neeley, by my side. Neeley was happily snuggled up in the passenger seat in his fluffy dog bed — and he was gamely wearing a protective cone around his neck to keep him from licking his leg, which had been injured for a week or so.
We were traveling on Route 84 west in Connecticut, outside Waterbury. I was sipping a hot coffee and singing along with 80s songs streaming from my favorite Sirius radio station, and in general, just appreciating the day; it was clear, sunny, and very hot, with the temperature reaching about 92 degrees by mid-afternoon. Before I started on my trip I had prayed, as always — for God’s protection and care on the roadway. Little did I know how much I would need it on this day.
I was driving about 65 miles an hour in the right lane when I gasped; loping towards my lane was a giant black bear. He was in the left lane, looking straight ahead as he continued his rollicking gait towards the forest to my right.
I screamed and slammed on the brakes, but I knew it was hopeless; I would hit this bear. As the front of my car struck him my airbags deployed from the front and the side, enveloping me instantly with their life-saving protection. Still struggling to take in what was happening, I saw that Neeley had flown towards the dashboard and then slumped into the passenger-side floor, where he lay motionless.
Suddenly I saw what looked like smoke start to seep from the dashboard area — was the car on fire? I unhooked my seatbelt with shaking hands, grabbed Neeley, and opened my car door, stumbling out of the vehicle. As several stunned people strode toward me — fellow motorists who had immediately pulled over to assist me after witnessing me hit the bear — I waved them back. “I think the car is on fire!” I yelled. One of the men who had pulled over peered into my car from the back seat and assured me it was the normal wispy smoke from airbags deploying.
I stood shaking on the side of the highway, clutching Neeley, who miraculously had perked back up and seemed to be fine. The poor bear dragged himself to the woods and died, just minutes after being struck.
What did I learn from this frightening, incredible, and stunning event, about the nature of God and His love for us?
God Is in the Little Things
We might think that most of life is a somewhat random and haphazard series of events. We wake up, eat breakfast, scan our phones, and start our day. Layered within those little actions you will find God — never bored with us, never “looking the other way,” but instead, being unconstrained by space and time, always with us, even in the little things, because He alone knows the future. Always loving, always watching, always intervening for our good.
I had made a little decision as Neeley and I began our trip; I put the cone around his neck, even though it bugs him. I was tempted not to, since he would be a sleeping passenger, but I wanted to give his leg wound every chance to heal. I thought to myself, “Just let him deal with it and keep it on; it’s for his good.”
Was it ever! Our veterinarian later said it may have saved his life, protecting his tiny neck as he rocketed toward the dashboard. (His airbag did not deploy since he weighs so little.) God knows this, and directed my seemingly insignificant decision. And it saved the little creature that means so much to me.
Matthew 10:29-31 shares, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
God Works Through Us
We may know and accept this idea on a practical scriptural level — the concept that we are here to do God’s work, and to love as Christ loved. But our accident helped me to understand in a concrete way that God cares for us through the actions of others. We are His stand-ins when help and comfort are needed.
The people who pulled over and rushed to my aid were stunned by what they had just seen — a giant bear struck by a car going 65 miles per hour. But they did rush to me, and for the next 40 minutes acted like they had nowhere else they needed to be. They hugged me, inspected both me and my vehicle, gave me iced coffee (no one had water, which we laughed about!), and called my husband. They assured me the bear was dead and no longer in pain and put Neeley in one of their air-conditioned cars. They each did exactly as Christ would have done had he come upon my distressing situation. It was humbling and revealing to think about this, which I have done many times since the accident.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)
For Each of Us, Our Time Will Come — Chosen by God
I know how easily I could have died in the accident. Many people, from police to insurance adjusters, have shaken their heads at my miracle. I emerged without a scratch, as did Neeley. Why? When you have experienced a shocking event, this question is part of your sifting through it, processing different emotions to move toward closure. (I believe if you don’t go through this process, allowing yourself to really feel your emotions, anxiety and avoidance behaviors can set in.)
The answer to my why is simple; it just wasn’t my time. God decided to protect me fully and absolutely from injury. He also allowed one of His beautiful creatures, that big black bear, to perish. That is part of His plan, and His plan is perfect.
Had I died, that would have also been part of His plan. In the mystery of faith, I cannot list facts as to why this is, I can only share my cellular-level certainty that I was in God’s hands in those frightening moments. If I slow the crash down in my mind — the airbags deploying as Neeley and I jettisoned forward, the grill and hood of my car crumpling, the bear innocently taking his last earthly steps — I see God as an artist, a conductor — designing our outcome. Perhaps the bear went straight to Heaven, if animals do join us there. Maybe Neeley’s cone did strike the dash instead of his fragile neck, saving him. Maybe as my eyes closed in fear, God reached out His hand and clasped my shoulders, pulling me back, away from the steering wheel.
My frightening event has further convinced me of the reality of our one true God. Our God that designs everything — our lives and our deaths. I grieve killing the bear, and I thank God for not allowing him to suffer too long. But I will never forget that bear, either — and the highway event that joined our lives for those moments.
May we feel God’s closeness not just in emergencies, but every day of our life. He is there, in our large and small moments — and He will make everything right in the end. If we can really feel this, we have peace in this life, and unending joy in the next.
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Suwaree Tangbovornpichet
