The other day my two sons and I got into my old car to drive to the local post office. I backed out of my drive slowly like I normally do and then pulled to a stop at the side road that leads to the main highway. When it was clear I pulled out and stepped on the gas. As I stepped on the clutch and tried to shift into second, though, I immediately knew that something was wrong. The normally solid gear shift now felt like a spoon in a bowl of soup. I tried quickly to get it to lock into any of the gears but to no avail. Thankfully, the steering wheel was still working fine and I allowed the car to coast to the end of the side road where I was able to pull safely into a wide spot and turn the engine off.

My sons and I walked back to my house, borrowed my daughter's car, and drove to a local garage to arrange to have my car towed in for repairs. It was only later in the day that I finally realized how blessed and watched over I had been. I could have been on the main road when that stick shift failed. I could have been doing 55 miles per hour instead of 15. I could have been in the middle of a curve with no place to turn off the road. I could have had a car too close behind me that wouldn't have been able to stop in time. A hundred things could have made this incident dangerous or deadly. Yet, the gear shift broke at just the right moment to keep me and my boys safe.

Far too often we only see the bad things in life. We get angry with God when things don't go our way, and we fail to see the thousands of times that they do. We are loved and watched over in this life more than we can ever know. God loves us and His angels protect us every single day. Yes, my car broke down. Still, my sons and I are safe. We are loved. And we have been given more time here in this world to share our own love and light. Thank you God!