THE ANGELS RODE SHOTGUN!

Our son, Shane, moved to Ohio for an Aeronautical Engineering job with Aerborne Express.  He bought a house there, and then flew back to Arizona for his household goods and boat.  After the rented U-Haul truck was all loaded, and the boat was hitched up behind it, I prayed my way around them.  Every two feet, all the way around them, I stopped and prayed whatever was on my heart.  “Oh God, protect Shane as he drives straight through, without stopping!  Keep him wide awake and give him angels to ride along with him.  God, you promised to meet all of our needs, and we don’t know what the needs are ahead, but You do.  So please surround this truck and boat with angels!”

At first, I asked for one angel out ahead, one on each side, one behind, and one above.  I didn’t feel peace because that wasn’t enough angels, so I changed my prayer and asked for double that amount!  “God, please send two angels to stay out in front of Shane, two on each side, two behind, and two above.  I know I am asking for a lot, God, but will you also put an angel inside the truck to keep him awake?  Oh God, go with him and keep him safe!”  I didn’t think to pray for the trailer hitch.

As I was praying and making my way around his truck and boat, Shane came out of our house and asked, “What are you doing?”  I told him I was praying for safety and protection for him, and the whole rig, and for lots of angels to surround him, to keep him safe as he drove.  Shane shook his head and chuckled.  What else would his mother be doing?  I didn’t like the idea that he planned to drive straight through without stopping to sleep, but young men don’t ask, nor take, their mothers’ advice.  Every mother knows that sometimes the only thing we can do is pray—that is always available, and it is huge!”  Prayer changes things, and is so powerful that sometimes it seems to be EVERYTHING for a parent!

Traffic on three-day weekends has always been notoriously treacherous, and it was Labor Day weekend!  Dick and I each gave Shane a hug, and told him we loved him, as he left.  As I watched him drive away from our home in Arizona, heading to Ohio, I wished I could see the angels that were going along with him—guarding and protecting him!   The Bible in Mark 11:24 says, “Whatever you ask and pray for, believe that you have already received it, and it is granted to you.”  I believed that God had granted my prayers already, that meant that there were 10 angels outside and one inside with Shane.  I wonder, were they laughing and hanging onto the truck and boat?  Were they sitting on top?  Did they take turns on who was out front, and who was in back?  Did the one inside with Shane ever have to help him stay awake?  Did they fly part of the time and ride part of the time?  Angels aren’t all-knowing, so they didn’t know what was ahead!

In the old West, stage coaches often had a man sitting up in front beside the driver.  He had a gun ready at all times, and was riding shotgun, to protect everyone in the coach from robbery and other threats.  This is what I pictured the angels doing—riding shotgun, ready to protect against every threat!

I spread out the map of the United States, and marked Shane’s route.  I put a tiny sticky note on it, which I kept moving, representing where I thought he was.  He didn’t want us calling him, because he was driving.  He said he would call us on his cell phone, now and then, when he stopped for gas, and tell us where he was.  He knew that I wanted him to call me, day or night.

On Labor Day, Shane was in Kentucky on Interstate 65, going north between Nashville and Louisville.   The Interstate was loaded with holiday traffic, with four lanes of traffic going north, and four lanes going south.  Shane and the U-Haul had just started down a long hill, when he felt the boat lurch, and come off the ball of the hitch.  He immediately braked, but could feel the boat shaking, as now all that held it to the U-Haul was two chains.  Then the chains broke, and the boat was loose!  Shane slowed down, helpless to control the loose boat.  It went right, then it went left and passed the U-Haul and Shane on the left.  It headed at a 45% angle toward the dirt median and four lanes of traffic coming uphill on the other side of the median.   Shane saw that it would plow into those four lanes of uphill Labor Day traffic, if it continued its path!  He could do nothing about it!  Newspaper headlines of the carnage flashed through his mind, as he helplessly watched!   All traffic behind him slowed down and stayed back, watching in horror!  After passing Shane on the left, the boat hit the emergency lane on the left, and suddenly it turned almost 90 degrees and passed in front of Shane, across four lanes of freeway.  Then it continued into a cloverleaf area where it coasted to a stop.  Shane pulled off on the shoulder, in shock, yet incredibly relieved!  He sat there for a minute while his heart slowed to normal, his mind cleared of terrifying pictures, and his emotions quieted from alarm and tragedy!  The Kentucky Highway Patrol arrived before Shane was able to get out of the truck.  The Patrolman allowed Shane to drive to the boat and hook up.  Then the Officer blocked the exit and stopped two lanes of traffic, so that Shane could pull out, and drive slowly to the next exit.  Once there, U-Haul was notified, and they quickly sent someone to replace the defective hitch.

“Thank You, God, for your angels, and for protecting so many people!  If the loose boat had not been turned, it could have hit many cars, triggering multiple pileups and tragedy!  Thank You, for answering a mother’s prayer, and sending angels to ride shotgun!”

Angels aren’t all-knowing like God is, so they didn’t know this would happen.  When the hitch failed, did they have to scramble to do their jobs?  They were responsible to protect and to cause everything to work together for good!  At what point did they see where the boat was headed and realize they had to turn the boat?  Were they aghast as they pictured the catastrophe in the path of the boat, if they didn’t get it turned? Did they call to the two angels out in front to come back and help?  Did it take all ten angels working together to turn the boat?   Was it difficult for them to turn the boat?  Did they look around for a safe spot to guide the boat to?  Did one of them yell, “Look on the other side of the freeway is the perfect spot to stop it!”    Did they call to one another, “Let’s guide it across four lanes of freeway, and into the cloverleaf?”   Were they as terrified as Shane was at the blood bath he pictured?  Did the angel inside with Shane have the same reactions Shane had as he watched everything go from normal—to emergency—to helplessness—horror—to hope—to amazement—to awe—to relief!  Did the angels give each other high fives after the boat was guided safely to a stop, or did it take them awhile to calm down?  Did they say, “Wow, that was a close call?”  Did they hear God say, “Good job—well done!”

My first reaction, when I heard the report, was that I’d like to thank each of those angels, but talking to angels would be the same as praying to angels.   The Bible says we are never to pray to anyone, except God!  So, I said my, thank you to God—and that is only right.  It is He who created the angels, and commanded them to go along with Shane.   “Thank You, God!  You are awesome, and if that was captured on a video, may I watch it someday, please?”

The rest of Shane’s trip was uneventful, at least as far as he knew.  Did the angels take care of other things he wasn’t aware of?  “Thank You, God, for the angel that kept Shane awake, as he drove through the night, without stopping to sleep.  Thank You, that nothing is too difficult for You!  Thank You for sending your wonderful angels, and for all they did!”

Shane says that there is now a concrete barrier where that happened.  It should be a monument to God, because He did a miracle there at mile marker 75, on I-65 North!  Thank You, God, You used Your angels to turn a loose boat, so that it didn’t plow into a freeway laden with people.  Your angels saved many lives (Genesis 18:14)!  How great You are, God!”

Be sure and read my free eBook, Ten Steps to Answered Prayer, so God will answer your prayers too!