On Black Friday, my youngest, Mark, called. It was 5:33pm. He was on a date, and they were going to see the lights at Opryland Hotel. I figured he was lost and needed help with directions. Instead, I heard, “Uh Mom, we just had an accident.” The words every parent fears hearing. I asked if they were okay and where they were. After assurance that they were okay, Paul and I headed to the scene of the accident.
We hugged the kids and handled things as best we could with the police and the car – it had already been towed, so we hadn’t seen it. The kids continued their date, now with her dad as the chauffeur – not was Mark had envisioned, but at least they were able to still spend time together. Paul and I went on a search for where the car had been towed. When we finally saw the car, the enormity of what they had gone through started to come to life. It was scary to think of what “should” have happened and relief for what didn’t happen.
Then, when we picked Mark up after his date, the story began to unfold. Traffic was terrible. When the accident occurred, the car spun 180 degrees, and they came to a stop facing oncoming traffic. Almost immediately upon the car coming to a stop, there was a man at Mark’s door. Mark remembers passing him on the road. And now he was there at the door. He checked on all the people involved, but he stood by Mark and Meril and helped Mark find insurance and registration cards. He told him, “Until your parents get here, I will be the closest thing you have to a dad. Just take a deep breath and know that no one got hurt.” He was gone not long after that.
As Mark relayed this story, I had the overwhelming sense that this man was an angel. He was there immediately to help Mark and Meril. The accident could have been so much worse – but it wasn’t. Psalm 91:11-12 says, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Maybe I have taken that verse out of context, but I don’t think so. I believe that God sends angels to us in our times of need. I believe that there was an unnamed angel at that accident on Black Friday. And I am grateful. The call we fear getting, the fear that envelops all involved, it can be crippling. But an angel, whose name I may never know, was there when I couldn’t be. Just like Jesus to provide for needs we don’t even know we have. And I am grateful.
Learning is a Journey 