the moment i realized i was stronger than i thought

The Moment I Realized I Was Stronger Than I Thought

There have been several moments in my life that tested me.
Moments that forced me to discover strength I didn’t know I had.

But one stands above the rest.

Back in the 80s, when I was a college student, I was driving home from a party one night. I decided to take the back roads home through a rural area. When I saw blue lights behind me, I assumed it was a state trooper or sheriff’s deputy pulling me over.

But it wasn’t.

What happened that night changed my life.

In a matter of moments, fear took over in a way I had never experienced before. I remember a firearm pointed at me. I remember realizing I was no longer in control of the situation.

And I remember praying.

Somewhere in the middle of that nightmare, I was asked a question:

“Would anyone miss you?”

And immediately, faces came to mind.

My parents.

And the teenagers I taught in Sunday school—kids only a few years younger than me at the time. I thought about their faces, their lives, and how I needed to make it back.

Somehow… by the grace of God, I did.

I made it home.

But surviving something like that doesn’t end the moment you get away.

For years afterward, I was afraid to drive at night. Afraid of flashing blue lights behind me. Afraid of the memories that came rushing back without warning.

Trauma has a way of lingering long after the moment is over.

But one thing I learned is this:

You cannot allow the worst thing that happened to you to steal the rest of your life.

At some point, I had to let go and let God.

And that doesn’t mean forgetting.
It doesn’t mean pretending it didn’t affect me.

It means choosing not to live trapped by fear.

What still amazes me is that the very next day… I taught Sunday school.

Looking back now, I realize that wasn’t strength coming from me alone.

That was faith carrying me when I didn’t have enough strength to carry myself.

People often ask why my faith runs so deep.

This is why.

Because there were moments in my life when faith was the only thing standing between me and complete despair.

And when I think about that young college girl driving those back roads all those years ago, I realize something now that I didn’t understand then:

She was stronger than she knew.

Not because she wasn’t afraid.
But because she kept going anyway.

And sometimes, that is what strength really looks like.