http://www.beliefnet.com/story/222/story_22229_1.html
By Shannon Ethridge
By Shannon Ethridge
This is an amazing story of forgiveness and love, which are two vital characteristics for being a moral person.The absolute worst day of my life was August 29, 1984. Ironically, one of the best days of my life was the very next day, for on that day I was given the greatest gift one could ever receive.
It was the first week of my junior year in high school, and I’d worked hard to memorize my locker combination, my class schedule, and my new pep squad routines. On Wednesday morning of that week, I even remembered to put my seatbelt on before driving to school -- something I wasn’t in the habit of doing every time I got behind the wheel of my little brown Plymouth Champ. Driving down the farm-to-market highway, I remembered that I still needed to put lipstick on. One moment, I was adjusting my rearview mirror for a quick application. The next moment, I was slamming on the breaks after feeling my car jolt suddenly. Running back to see what I had hit, I was shocked to discover a curly-headed woman laying facedown in the grass, with a mangled bicycle next to her.
I ran to a neighboring house to call for an ambulance, which took forty-five minutes to arrive. All the while I was hoping and praying that the woman would survive, but my hopes were shattered when the ambulance driver coldly announced that we’d have to call a funeral home ambulance instead. I left the scene of the accident wondering how I would ever face this woman’s family. I considered suicide to be the lesser of the two evils.
. . .