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Charles’s calm assurance and acceptance gave Sue peace as she worked through her own grief and loss. She told me that only weeks before his death, he’d said listening to my experience and seeing the positive glow in my life made the difference. “It’s settled,” he’d said. “I know I’m going to a better place.”

As Sue shared her memories of Charles, she laughed and said, “Won’t I be the lucky one? I’ve got two men waiting for me. One day, when my time comes, I’ll have one on each arm, former husbands who are also brothers in Christ, and they can escort me down the streets of gold.”

When Joe, one of my twins, reached his teens, we decided to look for a used car for him. He wanted a truck, so we searched until we found one he liked, a 1993 Ford Ranger.

The dealer’s name was Gary Emmons; he owned a longtime automobile dealership in our area. Once we settled on the truck Joe wanted, we went inside to make the deal. Mr. Emmons gave us an excellent price, and Joe bought the truck.

Because of that experience, a good relationship formed between Gary Emmons and my family. We bought three or four more cars from him after that.

Gary knew a little about what had happened to me, but no details. He was a race-car driver as well as a car dealer. He seemed fascinated with my story. He had said he’d like to hear the whole story one day, but either he was too busy or I had to rush on.

One day Joe went to the dealership to make a payment. Gary waved him over. “You’ll never believe this.” The man grinned. “An amazing thing happened yesterday.”

“What?”

“I went to check out a car that we had just bought. I got inside the car to do the things I usually do—you know, punch all the buttons to see if everything works—things like listen to the engine for any defects, check the air conditioner, and see if the radio works. I noticed a tape inside the cassette deck. I pushed the eject button.”

He paused and smiled. “Bet you’ll never guess what was on that tape.”

“I have no idea,” Joe said.

“It was your dad’s story. We had bought the car in an auction, so there was no owner to give the tape back to. I took the tape and listened to it. The only thing I could think of when I heard it was one word—awesome. ”

As I look back, it’s amazing. Gary had wanted to hear my story, but we just had not gotten together.

“What are the odds of my going to an automobile auction with thousands of cars for sale,” Gary asked Joe, “then I sit inside one, push a button, and hear your dad talking?”

For days after that, I think Gary must have told everybody he talked to about my accident.

Of course, that testimony thrilled me. I’ve also heard many other stories of the way God has used my story.

I had made a tape about my experience while preaching in my church, Pasadena’s First Baptist, and had it duplicated. I must have distributed thousands of them. I also know people took the tape and copied it for their friends. I know people who ordered as many as twenty tapes over a period of months.

That testimonial tape just keeps going on and on. Many people who heard my story duplicated it for people going through physical trauma themselves or those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one.

I can only conclude that God had a plan for Gary Emmons to hear that tape and made sure he did.

One day while I was walking down the hallway of First Baptist Church of Pasadena, a woman stopped me. That’s not unusual, of course. In fact, my wife jokes that it takes me thirty minutes to walk twenty feet because everyone has something he or she needs to ask me or tell me. We have over ten thousand members; that’s a lot of folks to get around to.

“Oh, Reverend Piper, I came by just to see you. I want to tell you something—something that I think you need to hear.”

Usually when someone starts out that way, he usually adds, “It’s for your own good,” and it’s usually not something I want to hear. Several other people were with me, and I wasn’t sure how to react. As I stared at her, however, I sensed an urgency in her face and a deep intensity. I turned to the others