[It] Must Have Been the Hand of the Lord

[It] Must Have Been the Hand of the Lord

Rev. Jarrett Britton Washington

Glory, glory, glory, somebody touched me, Glory, glory, glory, somebody touched me,
Glory, glory, glory, somebody touched me, Must have been the hand of the lord.

Bob Dylan, “Somebody Touched Me.”

During a most recent worship experience, the church’s praise team ministered to my heart by singing Bob Dylan’s rendition of “Somebody Touched Me.” To think how powerful it really is to know Jesus can touch, heal, and deliver us whenever we are going through the very trials of this earthly life is reassuring.

After ministering in two worship services, my family and I rushed home to welcome guests who were coming over for dinner. Amongst our family members who stopped by, my mother and her best friend joined us. After spending time together, my mom and her friend got on the road to return home while it was still light outside.

About 15 minutes later, I received a frantic, almost unintelligible, phone call from my mom telling me she had been in a terrible accident. As I pulled up to what would be the scene of the accident on a small two-lane highway, I was stopped by the long line of cars that could not move but was able to pull my car on the side of the road. I jumped out of my car and began to make the trek towards the accident. The first thing that caught my attention was a car on the highway with the front tire torn off. The driver appeared well, as she and her friend were removing contents from their car. The more I walked, I could feel and hear the broken glass, steel, and rubber under my Crocs ®. I saw five or six police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance but I didn’t see my mom’s SUV. As my mind began to race, I wondered, had I arrived at the “right” accident. Where was my mommy?

Immediately, I heard the voice of my mom yelling, “That’s my son.” Her strong voice was partially diminished as it was coming from the inside of the ambulance. I began to praise God apprehensively because I was still thinking, “Where is the car?” Finally, my mom pointed to the swamp off the side of the road and there was her SUV. The SUV was lodged directly between two large oak trees and the driver’s side of the car was completely crushed. In my nervousness, I inquired as to how she was able to get out? She explained to me that she climbed over the passenger, her friend, and the passenger seat to get out. The SUV had boomeranged from the right-hand side of the road, all the way to the left-hand side and literally flew 40 feet into the swamp.

A gentleman remained and declared he would stay with my mom and me while the officers wrote everything up. In speaking with him, he said to me that my mom and her friend survived only because of God. In fact, as he was talking he said to us, “It must have been the hand of the Lord that carried you, ma’am.” He furthered his statement by pointing to the two large oak trees and saying it could have been so much worse. As the tears began to well in the corners of my eyes, I recalled that earlier that day, right before I mounted the lectern of the pulpit to preach, our praise team sang, “Somebody touched me.” It was through his words that God reminded me His hand is the hand that touches and keeps us. It was the hand of the Lord.