Supernatural Intervention

Andy and I moved to Florida’s east coast in September 1999. The following month, I traveled back home with Taylor (age 2.5) for a few days while Andy worked. We needed to get a few more things from my mom’s house that had not fit in the U-Haul.

About 4.5 hours of the 5-hour drive were on I-10. The weather was terrible on our way back to Jacksonville. It was raining buckets and you couldn’t see more than about 20 feet in front of you. The worst part was the pockets of water in each lane, which were quite a bit worse in the slow right lane. Due to low visibility, I was driving much slower than the posted speed limit (about 45 in a 65 MPH zone). I was in the fast left lane because the water pockets weren’t as bad. I can understand other drivers being annoyed by that, but when it’s raining that hard, one would think everyone would slow down.

Well, apparently I made one particular driver very upset. I mean, how dare I go 45 in the fast lane during a torrential downpour?! He was so close to my back bumper that I couldn’t even see his headlights in my rear view mirror, so I put on my turn signal and moved to the right lane. He then floored it, which sprayed water all over my windshield. It was at that moment my tires hit the water pockets on the road and I lost control of the wheel.

My Acura Integra slid off the road and onto the shoulder. I then hit and uprooted a speed limit sign, which caused my car to start spinning. It happened so fast and all I could think of was Taylor’s sweet little face. My car finally stopped when the trunk slammed into a tree. I quickly prayed my daughter was okay and turned around to face her. I unbuckled her and asked her if she was okay. She nodded yes and got out of her seat and into my lap. I hugged her so tight!

This was before I had a cell phone and, needless to say, I was in shock. I sat there for a few minutes, unsure what to do next. Several minutes passed. Looking back, I don’t understand why it took so long for someone to stop. Did no one see my car? Did they not want to get rained on? What the heck?

Finally, a vehicle pulled over and the man driving came to my car and asked if I was okay. We walked over to his SUV. The woman sitting in the passenger seat was just getting off her cell phone with 911. There were a couple children in the backseat. She offered to let Taylor sit on her lap since it was raining so hard. Looking back, maybe that wasn’t a great idea. I mean, they could’ve kidnapped her! But for some reason (shock, probably), I trusted her.

A state trooper came up a few minutes later. I walked over to my car with him. He observed while I tried to start it. It did start, but when I pressed the gas pedal, the tires just spun and it didn’t move an inch. The trooper said we needed a rope, which none of us had.

A couple seconds later, a van pulled up. A man wearing a raincoat and a large hat got out, walked over to my car with a rope in his hand and tied it to my car. He got back in his van and started moving ever so slightly. My car moved forward enough for me to drive.

The man untied the rope, got in his van, and drove off. No one ever spoke to him. No thank you. Nothing. What are the odds that he just happened to be in the right place at the right time and he read our minds? To this day, I’m convinced he was an angel.

I buckled Taylor into her car seat, and thanked the couple who had been the first to stop. It was still pouring down rain. The trooper followed me to the next exit to make sure my car was functioning properly.

I called Andy from a pay phone and explained what had happened. Then I got in my car and prayed that God would keep us safe for the remainder of our trip home. When I opened my eyes, the sun was shining. Not figuratively. Literally. It had stopped raining and the sun was out.

As I pulled onto the interstate, I realized the road was no longer wet! All the water pockets were gone and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I can’t explain how that’s possible, other than that God performed a miracle that day. A series of miracles, actually. And for that, I’m very thankful.