Since there was no phone call telling me otherwise, I forced myself to get dressed and then, after donning my outer winter garments, I opened the door and stepped outside.
For a few minutes I stood on the covered porch and looked at the world around me surveying the results of the night’s winter storm. How could something so picturesque be so dangerous?
The limbs on the trees groaned from the weight of the ice. The ground was a sheet of frozen water.
I put my cell phone in my pocket. Work was only three blocks away and it would be absurd to call a cab for such a short distance.
Slowly I started down the sidewalk gingerly taking one small step after another. It took me a long time to progress a short distance.
When I finally reached the curb at the street crossing, I stopped to catch my breath.
Not a car or a person was anywhere in sight. The world seemed to be deserted.
A gnawing feeling deep in the pit of my stomach made me feel nauseous and a sense of paranoia washed over me followed by the distinct flavor of intuition that warned me to turn back. Experience from the past told me to heed this still voice from within so I retraced my steps.
I had only taken a few steps back when I heard a huge crack and loud explosion. Looking over my shoulder I saw that a huge part of a tree had separated from the weight of the ice and was now lying in the path that I would have taken. The ice from its limbs shattered like shards of glass.
I shuddered to think I had been only moments away from being seriously hurt or to put it bluntly, it could have been the end of my existence. Shaken, I returned to the safety of the covered porch.
This time the view from my temporary shelter took on a whole new meaning. The sun’s rays reflected mini rainbows from the ice particles as crystal lights glittered like diamonds everywhere you looked. It was breathtaking!
I decided to stay home that day and celebrate the extension of my life as it once again had been given to me. Besides, I had some things to do. Prayers of gratitude were on the top priority list of this glorious day.
When Angels Collide
I knew the car was going to hit me so I gave in to the inevitable and braced for impact…
It was the busy season in the tiny port town where I lived at that point in my life and getting to the one and only grocery store on the main street proved to be a difficult task this time of year.
Today, however, I was left with no choice in the matter as I needed a few essential food supplies and in my present state of mind, traveling twenty minutes to get to another city to make the purchase, was just a precious waste of time.
I cautiously approached the intersection of the main street and contemplated my dilemma.
If I turned right the road would take me out of the area; if I turned left then I would arrive at the grocery store which was on the route to the beach. There were so many cars parked on the street that day that I knew it was going to be a challenge.
The cars were also parked up to the corner blocking any driver’s view making the turn onto the main thoroughfare completely unsafe no matter which way you looked at it. I was more than a little annoyed at this fact because I thought there was some kind of law prohibiting parking this close to a street corner.
The only way to take the journey was to creep slowly forward, then gun the car to make the turn and hope and pray that nobody was coming. I followed that maneuver.
Unfortunately, the minute I made that move another car was driving up from the beach and arrived in the exact same spot at the moment that I completed the turn.
I sped up to avoid the collision but at the rate the other driver was traveling I knew I was not going to get clear of the vehicle in time so I reluctantly gave in and accepted what was about to happen.
It was at that instant another miracle was about to take place and I was not going to be the only witness to this magical event.
It happened in an instant!
Instead of plowing into me broad sided, the other car never hit me at all! It seemed to pass right through me! I was left stunned.
Immediately after I regained my composure I looked into the rear view mirror to see where that automobile had disappeared to.
It was now travelling in the opposite direction away from me and the female owner of the small sedan, who was obviously in a similar state of shock over the mysterious phenomenon that had just occurred, was also glancing into her reflective glass in a dazed state of confusion.
Shakily, I made it safely to my destination. Before I entered the store I did what I always do during one of these lifesaving incidents and that was to give thanks to my Heavenly Caretaker for watching over me.
I sincerely hope I will run into that lady again during my life’s journey and get her intake on the day our Guardian Angels met to protect us so we could both live to spread the word about the magic that happens when Angels collide.
Time Stands Still
I had moved again…
I was leaving my live-in boyfriend of eight years after a rocky relationship. I had given it my best shot but now it was time to move on for the sake of my wellbeing.
At this time I wanted to live closer to my sons so I found a nice little apartment adjacent to a variety store and gas bar in the city that was located near them.
Financially I was broke from the move and down to my last couple of dollars. Even though I was in this financial state, for some reason, I felt luck was on my side and I took my last meager earnings and went to the gas bar to spend it on pull tag lottery tickets.
I talked myself into thinking this last couple of dollars wasn’t enough to buy anything anyway so I might as well take the change and ‘go for it. ‘
Once I purchased the tickets, I eagerly pulled open the flaps to reveal the surprise I had been hoping for. I was the winner of one hundred dollars!
To me it was a gift of many pennies from Heaven and it couldn’t have happened at a better time in my life. I was enthralled with the prize money and I came out of the store excitingly counting my windfall.
As usual, I wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going and instead of walking down the sidewalk that would take me back to my apartment, I absent mindedly began to step off the curb to the area where the gas pumps were located in order to follow that particular route home.
As I lifted my foot upwards preparing to take the stride down, time seemed to stand still and I became paralyzed - my leg just wouldn’t move and stayed suspended in the air.
At that exact moment a car sped up to the pumps! It was so close to me I could reach out and touch it. If I had taken that step down during those few seconds, I would have been seriously injured or killed.
Once the car was in its place at the pumps, my foot was mysteriously released from its tight grasp and came down safely on the sidewalk.
I was bewildered during my short walk home and it took me a few minutes to recover from my dazed state, but the minute I entered the apartment and gathered up my senses, I got down on my hands and knees and thanked God for sending my Guardian Angel to protect me once again from a fate unknown. It was then I noticed it!
As I lifted my head from prayer something on my shoulders attracted my attention. The material on both sleeves of my blouse were extended up about six inches off my shoulders like someone, or something, had forcefully pulled me back out of harm’s way.
They say the Lord works in mysterious ways and on that glorious day I had valid proof that there was