Upside Down, Right Side Up Miracle

Jill Capri SimmsBy Jill-Capri Simms Excerpt from the new book “I Am” 

We had just completed pre-recording this week’s edition of Liberating Truth Radio. Typically, I send my guests their interview questions about a week in advance. Yes, it might seem “stagey”, but the preparation formula helps me and the interviewee relax and keep on track to meet the broadcast timeframe. After all, 30 minutes will seem like 30 seconds once we get started. 

My day had been long so I was particularly eager to get in bed by 9:30 P.M. in order to feel rejuvenated for my 5:00 A.M. wake up alarm. Apostle Steve Lyston and I completed the interview in just two takes. Great going! As I was gathering up my notebook, pen, and laptop the apostle’s eyes kind of glazed over and he began to speak “words of knowledge” about me and my past which only God could have told him. 

I steadied myself by leaning on the recording board table and tuned in to his words. Internally I was nodding in agreement. I didn’t want to interrupt or break his prophetic flow, with any of my gestures or words of affirmation. But then he said, “You recently went through something that you have to tell many people about.” Spontaneously I responded somewhat loudly with, “Humph!” The leader of Restoration World Outreach Ministries had hit the nerve of my testimony that had just occurred five days prior. I reached for my black and white composition notebook and told him, “I need to write this down.” [Only after I was in my vehicle did I kick myself for not having recorded the full prophecy using my cellphone.] 

For nearly 15 straight minutes Apostle Lyston continued speaking words of knowledge, words of wisdom, words of encouragement, words of confirmation, and foretelling words. I’m no stenographer, but I wrote in short-hand, somewhat scribbly, and captured as much as I could. He concluded by simply looking at me. I responded with, “Thank you! You certainly spoke with a great deal of accuracy; and confirmed quite a few prophetic words I’ve received. However, you mentioned I experienced something that I need to share. So, I need to tell you about something that happened just last week…actually it was very early Thanksgiving morning.” 

Although the apostle had previously been a guest on my radio broadcast, the station’s program manager had interviewed him since I was on an assignment in St. Petersburg, Florida. The apostle and I had never personally met, although we had briefly communicated on Facebook and via texting about the radio broadcast. He was completely unaware of my Thanksgiving miracle. 

“Apostle you mentioned that something had recently happened that I needed to share with others. I need to tell you about my car accident that just happened very early Thanksgiving morning.”

“Okay,” he replied. 

“Apostle, my friend Otis and I were on I-75 driving to Atlanta to visit my daughter for Thanksgiving. I fell asleep and Otis dozed at the wheel. I was awakened by a jerking of the SUV…sort of like when you’re on a roller coaster. I could smell something like burning wires and burning rubber, but everything was white. I couldn’t actually see anything. I could hear cars whizzing by and heard Otis say, “Let me see what’s going on.” He got out of the rental car. Then I remembered we were on I-75, and called out to him, “Hey! What are you doing? Where are you going?” 

“I need to check things out. There’s a highway patrol officer coming,” he yelled back. 

“What’s going on?” I thought to myself. I realized I couldn’t see anything because the airbags had deployed and everything was white inside the vehicle. So I got out of the SUV and then I could clearly see our rental vehicle had been in a highway brawl, and had lost. All four tires were flat and the exterior looked kind of like a crumpled aluminum Coca Cola can. The rear window of the SUV was completely broken out. 

As I was inspecting the SUV the Florida Highway Patrol Officer came to me and asked if I was okay and whether I needed to go to the hospital. Again, it just was not registering. Why would I need to go to the hospital? Couldn’t he see that I was okay?  “It’s cold out here,” he said. “Would you like to sit in my patrol car? I’m going to call for a tow truck.” 

“Okay, it is pretty cold. Can I get my blanket?” Otis heard my request and said, “I’ll get it.” I went to the patrol car’s back seat and tried to squeeze in. It was rather awkward, because the back seat has no leg room. All I could do was back in, butt first, and have my feet dangle out of the back door. Otis brought my daughter’s Lion King comforter to me. Yes! It’s 22-years old and although my daughter no longer claims it, I still use it as my blankie. 

The officer came back and asked for our driver licenses and the vehicle rental agreement so that he could make out his accident report. Otis went back to the SUV to get my wallet and the rental agreement. 

“Otis, get my cellphone too!” I added. 

Our luggage and Thanksgiving food fixin’s were disheveled inside the vehicle, but he came back, “Got ‘em!” Waving like a victory banner my wallet, cellphone and the printed rental agreement. The officer responded, “Thanks! I’ve called the tow company.” 

It could not have been more than a few minutes and a flatbed tow truck rolled up in front of the SUV, and the driver began adjusting to hoist the rental to the flatbed of his tow truck. 

“Don’t forget to give me the vehicle key. I need that!” shouted the tow driver.

Wait a minute. If the car was getting towed, where were we going? How would we get to Atlanta or back to Orlando? I must have thought these thoughts aloud because the driver said, “Well, there’s plenty of motels back in Cordele. I’ll drop you off so you can make some calls or find a place to stay.”  “Well, I need to call my daughter and see if she can pick us up. How far are we from Atlanta?” I asked.

I looked at my cellphone, it was about 2:00 a.m. 

“Yer ’bout 2 hours away,” the driver added. 

“Well, what’s the safest and least expensive place to go until morning?” 

“Lemme hitch up the vehicle and I’ll take you by some places,” our ‘chauffer' said. 

Before I knew it we were at the Cordele Ramada and I was thinking the tow driver would unload the SUV so the rental company could pick it up. But the driver said, “Aw naw. I’ll drop it at the tow yard, but I’ll need the rental key.” 

So we unloaded our luggage and food items from the SUV and the driver departed with, “Rough start to your Thanksgiving holiday, but enjoy it if you can.” 

“Yes indeed. Bless you. Be safe,” I added. 

I did an inventory of our luggage and food items. I couldn’t believe the only item that didn’t make it through the accident was my Publix Dutch Apple Pie! So disappointing. These apple pies were on sale for $2.00 less than the regular price. Why, oh why couldn’t the Ruffles Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream Potato Chips have been lost instead?

Otis had been quiet most of the time while on the highway, and I noticed his hands were shaking. I had never seen his hands nervously shake. Not even while trying to swing his golf club. 

“Are you okay?” I asked. 

“Yeah, but I just can’t believe what we just went through,” he looked somewhat puzzled. As if he was calculating a math problem that was not working out.

“I know,” I responded. “Can you believe we’ll need to get another rental? What should we do; go back to Orlando or see if we can get to Atlanta?” 

Otis seemed to intensely ponder the options. “Perhaps we should go back to Orlando. Maybe we can get another rental car or Mega Bus.” 

“Wow, I’m not familiar with Cordele, Georgia. Let me give my daughter a call to see if she can pick us up and take us to a bus station. But we have all this food to haul too. I’ll also call Deidra, I see she texted me around 11:30 p.m. asking about our ETA.” Earlier on Wednesday I informed Deidra we would be arriving around 10:00 p.m.

So I dialed my daughter. “Hey Mom! How close are you? Are you coming here or going to Ms. Deidra’s?” my daughter asked. 

“Well Sug, Mr. Otis and I have been in a car accident. We’re in Cordele, Georgia right now trying to figure out what to do and whether to come to Atlanta or go back to Orlando. I also need to call the rental company and my insurance company to report the accident.” 

“Oh no Mom! Oh no! Are you okay? How’s Mr. Otis? I’ll come get y’all. What’s the address?” she sounded concerned. 

“Sug, let me call you back once I’ve reported the accident. Okay?” 

“I love you Mom. Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yes, Sug. I’ll call back soon…or at latest in the morning. Okay? Love you Sug!” 

I felt Otis and I needed to be clearer and more certain of our next steps. Otherwise, we could cause more alarm and anxiety than necessary. 

“Otis, I’m going to report the accident to Enterprise and Geico, okay?” 

“Okay,” he responded, but still had an “off-in-a-distance” look. 

“You know, as we were hanging upside down, all I could do was brace myself for the impact,” he said. 

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“Well, before we rolled upright, we were in the middle of I-75 upside down. I couldn’t do anything, but wait. I was just too tired. I should not have been driving at night.” 

“Hold up! Did you say we were upside down in the middle of the highway?” How’d that happen?” 

“Like I mentioned. I dozed off, and must have hit the cement guard rail. The SUV turned upside down. I couldn’t do anything except wait for the impact of another car or truck.” 

“Otis, you didn’t tell me that! You mean we were actually upside down? I woke up when the car turned upright, because I felt the jolt. And we were in the shoulder area out of any oncoming traffic. So how’d we get there?” 

“When we were upside down a semi-truck came by and the force of the wind from the semi caused us to roll, and blew us right side up and into the shoulder of the highway.” 

“Whaaaa???? No way! A semi-truck can’t do that. Well, maybe it can. I’m no physicist, but that seems far-fetched. That was most likely the rushing wind of God. Ain’t no way a semi had the strength or air force to blow our SUV right side up? And kind enough to place us in a safe zone. Uh! That was my miracle working God in operation!”

“You’re right,” Otis said. “It was a miracle. It’s a miracle we’re here right now talking about what happened. It’s amazing. It’s too late to make phone calls. I’m going to text my daughter and sons.” 

“Oh thank you Lord!” I shouted feeling a physical surge of exhilaration. “Glory to you God! Glory to your Holy Name! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Heavenly Father for your loving kindness and tender mercies! Oh my goodness. Father God you’re not done with us yet. You saw it so fit that you shielded us from harm.” 

“Otis we just experienced a miracle! I always would say people only need miracles if they’re not applying God’s Word. This is proof that God’s wondrous miracle working power was in full effect for us. He’s not done with us yet. We need God at all times whether awake or asleep!” 

I could not stop glorifying God. I experienced a direct miracle. Life is but a vapor. Otis and I could have been snuffed out on our way to Atlanta. And I was asleep. Why didn’t God allow me to experience seeing us hanging upside down on the road? 

“Otis, I wish I had my tambourine to shout and praise God. Can you believe we just survived? We were at Death’s doorstep, but the rushing Ruach wind of God protected us. And check this out; the rental car was fully on the shoulder area of the road. Not even facing oncoming traffic. My God is an awesome god!” 

I thought how we should always be conscious that God never sleeps nor slumbers, and He is our very present help in time of trouble. 

Otis was still quiet and meditating on what had happened on I-75. He had fallen asleep at the wheel, but his eyes were opened to see God’s miracle working power in full effect. Otis says it was the wind of a truck that blew our vehicle upright and into safety. Yet I say it was God’s will in that wind that we not perish on Thanksgiving Day 2016.