This the story of a blessing I have received that I have only told a couple of people about and I think that God has laid it on my heart to share it with people. It might be long but I think it is worth you reading.

In the spring or late winter of 2003 I was involved in an accident on McFarland Blvd. I was blocking traffic in a patrol car for some road repair workers. While I was sitting in my patrol car I heard the squealing of tires behind me and looked in my rearview mirror and saw a big truck pushing cars out of the way and I thought, this is going to hurt. I was hit on the driver’s side by one of the cars and pushed into the tar trailer that the workers were using to repair the road. Both airbags in the patrol car deployed. I was trapped in my vehicle between the tar trailer and the vehicle that had hit me. I had trouble talking and breathing because of the airbag but called into to headquarters that I had been in an accident and was trapped in my car and that I needed rescue. I was transported to DCH with a hurt right shoulder. When I got to DCH I found that the right sleeve of my uniform had holes burned in it from the tar, but none on my skin. I usually rode a motorcycle at work so I had on a few layers of clothes and this kept me from getting burned. The Doctor said that if it had got on my skin they would have had to peel my skin off. The next day I went and looked at my vehicle and saw that the passenger airbag was covered with tar. The airbag had kept the tar from hitting me in the face. The airbag should have inflated and deflated in under a second and not stopped the tar but it did and protected my face from being burned and scared for life. I tell you this because of the money I got from this wreck started my downfall.

Because of the accident I got enough money to put a down payment on a Tri-axle dump truck. I talked to several people about this and it seemed like a good business to get into. I purchased the dump truck and leased it on with Vinson Trucking and hired a driver and got a credit card for the business. The truck started making money so I went out and got a new pick up, I started to spend money on things, we would go out to dinner every night and go an vacation, I would always tell wife that it was OK the truck was doing good. I was tithing at church and even sending money to Pastor Black with RPM. I thought I was doing great. When a repair was needed I would put it on the credit card. I would always say I would pay it off with the next check. Well I started digging the hole. I never saved. The truck started needing more and more work. My driver told me about another trucking company I could make more money with, so I sold the dump truck and bought an 18 wheeler with a dump bed, I lost money on the trade. This truck ran for a little while and I kept spending money. The motor in this truck went out and I had to rebuild it, more money, I ended up trading this truck in and getting another tri-axle and again lost more money on the trade. I had this truck for about 5 months and I thought everything is going to be OK. Then my driver quit and the truck was trashed and I traded it in on an 18 wheeler with a flat bed and got me another driver, again I lost money. At this point I was in so much debt I could not quit. I was too ashamed to even talk to anybody about it and never told my wife. I finally talked to my Aunt and she paid off the loan on the truck and I now had a loan with her.