Divine Intervention .....

Yesterday evening while trying to do some hasty catch-up online following a busier than usual weekend that had kept me unconnected for far too long, by happenstance to had a “Dateline NBC” playing in the background. They were running a segment titled ‘Twist of Fate’ in which they profiled the story about the tragic stage collapse during what was to have been a Sugarland concert on August 13, 2011 at the Indiana State Fair. At that time, wind gusts from an approaching thunderstorm had caused the stage’s temporary roof structure to come hurling down on the crowd of unsuspecting spectators, as a result killing seven people and seriously injuring 58 others.

Among those injured was a three-year-old girl named Maggie Mullen, whose arm was almost severed in the incident. Now accidents of this multitude almost always carry with it dozens of horrific injuries. That in and of itself is hardly remarkable, but what was extraordinary was the series of events that followed that managed to save this little girl’s life. In teaching our children what’s safe and what’s not, much is said about ‘stranger danger’ but in this case a complete stranger was the heroic impetus that turned what could have been such a sad ending into a triumphant one. Upon noticing a distraught young mother covered in blood and clutching a child, this man sprang into action, literally climbing through a maze of twisted metal to help rescue what he assumed was an injured adult, only to discover the injured party was her daughter.

Recordings of the aftermath managed to capture his voice screaming for medical aid as he used his own shirt to tie a makeshift tourniquet, when from out of the blue a pediatric nurse arrived by his side to assist. As audible screams from the on looking mother and sister continued piercing the chaos, next arrived a doctor from out of the blue who – with the aid of the original man – managed to pass this child back and forth through the bloody maze while keeping her arm stabilized in order to get her to a hospital where she could receive immediate life-saving treatment.

During the course of the interview, the man suggested that whenever he called out for help of some kind, from out of the blue it miraculously appeared, which helps support my belief that when an unlikely series of events occur simultaneously in a ‘cause and effect’ manner serving to dramatically alter the likely series of events, it can only be described as ‘Divine Intervention’. I’ve known with certainty for years now that angels walk among us. Over the course of time I’ve experienced a number of occasions that couldn’t be explained otherwise, and tonight I’ll offer up two such instances.

My son, Christopher, was never a bad child …. only a mischievous one. As a mother, I have always been very close to both of my children, but while my daughter was always so capable and wise beyond her years, her brother was a different matter. Although he never went looking for trouble, it somehow always managed to find him. Thus Chris always required ‘special prayers’ to insure his continued safety.

The first truly memorable incident occurred when he was a gangly seven-year-old boy who had yet to grow into his long arms and legs. We as a family had traveled out to California for an extended vacation with an additional cousin in tow. A portion of the trip was spent at Yosemite where we had booked a cabin situated across from the main mess hall and Welcome Center. On our first morning, as we walked across the park a hungry group in search of breakfast, Chris – in typical fashion – was bouncing off of every conceivable surface – insisting upon traveling ahead of the rest of us. Just as he was about to cross the only thoroughfare between two parked tour buses, I noticed a speeding yellow Trans Am out of the corner of my right eye. Instantly my brain fast-forwarded to the approaching tragedy, and I did the only thing I could do from some thirty feet away …. I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Chris stop!” But he didn’t stop.

Time and motion stood still as I ran to the spot where I assumed I’d find what no mother could possibly bare to see, with my only thought being, “Dear God no!” However when I passed between the two buses where he should have been lying, he stood safely on the other side of the street with a puzzled look on his face.

“What?” he asked, as I immediately pulled him into me.

All I could say was, “Didn’t you see the car?” and he replied, “What car?” But I knew I hadn’t imagined it. His father had seen it too and froze still in his tracks. I looked around us, but the car was nowhere to be seen. It had passed through without incident and moved on to wherever it was headed. Then as if a ghost had suddenly passed through me I was shaken to the core and drained of all energy. While the others calmly ate breakfast all I could do was say to his father, “There’s no way that car could have missed him.” However, sometime later I came to understand we had all been given the gift of ‘Divine Intervention’.

The second incident occurred a few years later when I stopped by a neighbor’s on my way home from work to pick up Chris at a friend’s before heading on home. When in an instant – before I even had the chance to exit my car – a familiar boy’s face appeared at my car door exclaiming, “Chris just fell out of the top of a tree!”

Once again I bolted as fast as I could run to where my young son lay on the ground flat on his back after having fallen some twenty plus feet. He was conscious, but the whites of his eyes were beet red and he was unresponsive. As I called out to him I became acutely aware that aside from the on looking children, I was not alone. A young gentleman dressed in a suit was kneeling beside me and Chris when he looked me in the eye and said, “Don’t worry. I’m a doctor.” Then in what seemed like only moments Chris was on his feet and completely receptive. I hastily thanked the man for his intervention and asked if I should take him to the hospital, but I was assured he was fine. Then with one arm around my son, I carefully walked him back to the car and took him straight home.

Later that evening, when I questioned the neighbors and children as to the man’s identity so that I might properly thank him for his help, no one had any idea who he was or where he came from. He just appeared and then disappeared as quickly. Whether he was a physician who just happened by or one of God’s army of angels I’ll never know for certain, but when I needed him he was an answer to my prayers.

Over the years, there has been any number of other incidents which saved Chris from harm, including three serious car accidents any of which could have proved fatal. Even I have had a couple brushes with divinity that I didn’t identify as such until sometime after the fact, and each incident served to confirm what I already knew was true ….. regardless of the hopelessness you can feel when you feel as if you have been abandoned, or are feeling stressed and anxious or lonely and depressed, you are never truly alone, and although tragedy is and will continue to be a part of life on this planet, sometimes ‘Divine Intervention’ will intercede and as a result alter the course of history.