Encountering an Angel

Its a mystery as to where the angel was, maybe there was more than one; but at least one had to have been there.



It was kind of a learning driver's worst nightmare: Two lane back country road, hills and curves aplenty. In a 2000 Ford 4x4, at top of the hill was a teen driver and her dad. In the dip just before another blind hill was a biker. The driver began breaking, but the downhill ride she was on wasn't helping. Three cars behind her, biker in front of, and two cars in the lane coming towards her. Oh, did I mention the speed limit was 55?



Terror gripped her stomach as she hollered "Dad I'm all for learning, but tell me what to do! Dad, PLEASE!" Although he wasn't ignoring her, she was rapidly approaching, and her throat was closing up. She looked into the next lane and saw two cars coming at her at the same 55 MPH. She checked her rear-view and saw another three trailing her. Her foot pressed to the break, she didn't even breathe again before shouting "DAD!!" Her father, gentle by nature raised his voice in urgency and maintained a calm demeanor. "BREAK! You need to break now!"

Her palms were sweating; she kept looking around into the lane next to her to see when she could go around the biker, who still seemed oblivious that his life was in jeopardy. "Dad I have to stop!" A totally new situation to her, she wasn't trying to make more drama than necessary, but she was terrified as she saw that if she did anything else, lives would be ruined or ended altogether.

She had to come to a complete stop, just feet behind the biker before she could go around him. The drop in her speed, however, created a second hazard: picking up speed once around the biker. She still had a blind hill in front of her and needed to hurry through the lane so as not to be an obstruction. Still, the knots in her stomach didn't ease as she tried to get speed up to go around the biker.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, as fast as the situation came upon her it was over. A small gasp escaped her throat, and she tried to focus on the task at hand, and not think about how bad it could have been. Her mind searched for the memory of how to drive the vehicle, as she was very disheveled. She got a grip, and was able to continue just fine. But her heart didn't forget about it.

Now here she sits, two days later, and thinks, "there was an angel; there had to be."



Whether it was an angel pushing her brake harder, a band of them around the biker, or even more holding cars off, she doesn't know. But there had to have been an angel...or a few angels. Angels that comfort, angels that protect, and angels that value human life.

~M