My Personal Pearl Harbor
Sometimes when I’m thinking about a conversation or an idea, it “clicks” in my head. That is a terrible description since there is no sound and it’s really just a sense of certainty. Nevertheless, the word “click” feels right. When this happens, I simply know that my thought about the topic at hand is “right”. Maybe this is what other people call intuition or gut. Or maybe it’s a specific manifestation of those concepts. Regardless, I’m usually right when the thought “clicks”.
On May 21, 2021, I had a thought that clicked. Since I began expanding the iNautilus methodology into a business late last year, I have also begun adding other components that together would provide a holistic, comprehensive view of something, but I struggled to define what that was. On that Friday morning, however, as I looked over my notes/ideas for the last 6 months, I started formulating a new idea. The myNautilus™. This finally tied everything together; it was the missing link for which I had been searching. The latest in a series of epiphanies that would (combined) enable me to have positive impact on the world and for God’s kingdom.
My wife, Jenny, texted me that morning. It was a sunny, 85-degree day, and she wanted to come home early and go for a motorcycle ride. When she got home, I paused my notes/sketches to eat some lunch. While she grabbed a bite, I showed her what I had been developing. It “clicked” for her too. She said, “That’s it! That’s the missing piece. And that is going to change your audience.” Then we left on the motorcycle.
Seven hours later I was resting on my couch with both arms bandaged and my leg elevated. I was praying for Jenny who had been airlifted to a hospital for head trauma, and I was replaying the events of that afternoon. About 15 minutes into our ride, a deer sprinted out in front of us on a busy, 2-lane state highway. In a populated area. Around 1pm. Amidst Friday noontime traffic. We broad-sided the deer at about 60mph.
Three weeks later, I get to tell this story. And although we are still recovering, our injuries were amazingly minor. My road rash is 99% healed, and my leg is getting better. Jenny suffered a concussion and 2 fractured ribs but was released from the hospital the next day. She is still getting dizzy sometimes, but overall, we were blessed. We were protected. There were people on the scene immediately including an Army medic. An ambulance happened to be driving by and stopped to help us. Within an hour, hundreds if not thousands of people were praying for us. Later we found out that people had been praying for our safety that morning, before the accident and before we had even decided to go on a ride.
And this is us, 3 weeks and a day after the accident (see photo).
Now, this is where I’m going to lose some people with the crazy/weird side of the story. For those of you who do not know me well, I’m a pretty rational person. As a thinker (vs. feeler) who loves logic (math, science, technology, Excel), I consider myself an intellectual Christian. My heart follows my head, and my faith is one of thought and contemplation. While there is absolutely a spiritual realm and supernatural occurrences, I usually look for “natural” explanations first. I avoid looking for a demon to take responsibility for the difficulties that assail us humans throughout life. While that may be the case sometimes, usually there are simply natural consequences and/or challenges that arise from living in a fallen/broken world.
With that disclaimer in mind, as I sat on my couch the evening of the accident, the thought popped into my head that it wasn’t an accident. It was an attack. And that thought “clicked.” I considered the strangeness of the time of day for a lone deer to run across the highway. I recalled how it was so perfectly timed, that I could not have done a better job of hitting the deer at full speed if I had tried to do so. In addition, there were other spiritual battles brewing in our home of which we had only begun to become aware. Plus, there was the breakthrough I had that morning with myNautilus™. Jenny and I were both being called to significant impact through our businesses, and we were making progress.
All of that coupled with the amazing (supernatural) protection God provided suggested to me that something (the enemy) meant for us to die that day. This is not about ego or importance. We believe that spiritual warfare is real and goes on around us all the time. It does affect us, but we are simply incognizant of it. And we (all of us) are warriors, warrior-priests, whether we like it or not. My life has been a series of battles, and I don’t believe that I am unique in that regard. However, as I look back now, I’m realizing that it was all part of a war. And the motorcycle “accident” was my Personal Pearl Harbor. What was intended to destroy me, simply propelled me into the war. Because of the “accident”, we are actively praying through the warfare in our home and family. We are intending our businesses to have significant Kingdom impact. We are no longer complacent. We are no longer incognizant. We are taking up arms, shouting a battle cry, and setting out to destroy the enemy.