May 27, 2016, was an ordinary day at my workplace at a local dry cleaner. In between customers, I spend my free time on sewing projects.

I had just sat down at my sewing machine, when there was a huge explosion. It was like a bomb had gone off.

An elderly man had driven across the parking lot in reverse and had plowed into the storefront.

Before I had a chance to react, the window glass and frame fell on top of me. The man‘s car kept coming and pushed the counter and me through the wall.

When the dust settled, I was lying on the ground with all that debris covering me. All I could do was cry out, “Help me, Jesus! Help me, God!”

Within minutes, people flooded into the store. They held up the wall and pulled me out from under it. Someone called 911. An ambulance took me to the emergency room, where an intern told me I was going to be sore, but that I should just go home and take Ibuprofen or aspirin, and I‘d be okay.

Well, I wasn‘t okay. My right leg was black-and-blue. My lower back, neck, right hip, and stomach were sore. A workman‘s comp doctor prescribed pain pills, muscle relaxants, and physical therapy. Five months later, I was still hurting. The workman‘s comp doctor sent me to an orthopedic surgeon, who discovered I needed a hip replacement. He operated in October.

All I could do was cry out, “Help me, Jesus! Help me, God!”

I returned to work in January and feel fine now, but as I reflect back on all that happened, I have to agree with the Scriptures that say things happen for a reason and that God can use everything for His glory.

The dry cleaner is my own little mission field. I pray for my customers and sometimes actually pray with them right there in the store. My husband Bob told the members of our home team how I reacted at the hospital.

“Carrie is so funny,” he said. “When she came out of surgery and was on the gurney coming down the hall, she was praising God and singing, ┴шВThank you, Jesus.‘“

I vaguely remember the nurse telling me to put my hand down.

God must have had another reason for allowing me to need hip surgery. I have a friend in England who needs a hip replacement. They have socialized medicine over there. She‘s been waiting for four years┴шсin agony. She‘s an atheist and has lost all hope. I told her what God has done for me and what He can do for her. I told her my small group was praying for her. And, I emailed two songs that touched me while I was in agony┴шсMove (Keep Walkin‘) and Wounded.

I really wouldn‘t want to go through it again, but, as I told Bob, for one soul I would do it. I should have been killed, but I tell people all the time how God‘s angels surrounded me that day. And guess what? A week after the accident, God led me to a shop where I found a little plaque with an angel on it, along with the words, There‘s an angel watching over you. I stuck it on my register, so every customer who comes in will see it. That‘s what I feel. God‘s angel is definitely watching over me.