CHAPTER 1
Story One
THE BRIDGE
On a trip to California, Mary and I flew to San Francisco and rented a fun and spiffy, yellow Mustang convertible. Our plan was to travel up the beautiful coastline and then turn inland toward the Napa Valley area. We wanted to be there before nightfall and spend the night where we had reservations. Neither of us likes to drive in unknown territory after dark (this was before GPS), but it evolved in a way that this was not going to happen.
Traveling with our map directions, we hit a heavy rainstorm. After driving too long on a road that the map indicated would only be for two miles, we realized we had missed our turn. We were on a highway traveling at least fifty miles per hour, trying to find a place to turn around. I could see what looked like a small bridge to the right. Thinking I could make the short turn onto the bridge, back up, and quickly make a U-turn, I began braking. I was trying not to skid while keeping sight of the one-lane bridge with the headlights. I turned, afraid we would go off the bridge in the opposite direction if I wasn't careful. I had underestimated the distance, and the car was left straddled between land and the side of the bridge.
Mary was leaning over to the left, almost on top of me, and when I asked her what she was doing, she exclaimed that there was a huge drop-off on her side. I tried to look down on the right and could see in the little light left from the day that it was a long drop. My foot had been planted on the brake pedal, and my leg was shaking. We both got quiet, realizing our predicament and feeling our trembling. One false calculation, forward or backward, and we would be falling. We both asked for Grace.
"Please God, help us get on this bridge safely."
I asked Mary, "Ready?"
She said, "No, wait!" (This is her usual answer when in a jam).
We both continued to be still inside for a moment longer, and then we felt ready at the same time. I held my breath and took my foot off the brake and accelerated. We didn't know how in the world it was possible—but we were on the bridge. Not only were we on the small bridge, the car was straight! I put the car in park and we both breathed a sigh of relief and tried to calm down. We both knew we were sitting in the hands of Grace. Something carried us onto that bridge and straightened the car. We were sitting in safety, now ready to back straight off the bridge, get ourselves turned in the right direction, and make our way to our destination for the night. We shuddered at the thought of our families being informed that we had driven off into some deep ravine in a heavy rainstorm on a California highway. That is not something we would wish for them at all. Now, after we gave our next prayer to be able to back out onto the highway without incident, we were on our way, shaken, but awestruck.
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Many of us have experienced or witnessed life-threatening situations where there was a powerful intervention that saved those involved. It cannot be explained how it happened; it just happened. Has there been a similar incident in your life? Did you recognize the Grace that was present at the time, or are you just now seeing it as you reflect back? Often, we call these "miracles" or "divine intervention." It maybe a big event or something that was seemingly small; yet Grace intervened and changed the situation. If you do not feel that something like this has happened in your life, don't worry. Grace is always there; you just need to learn to recognize her, and you will.
CHAPTER 2
Story Two
THE BANK ROBBERY
Mary and I were leaving early on a Wednesday morning to join some friends in Maui, Hawaii. Given my schedule of meetings with clients on this particular Monday and Tuesday, my window of time to get the cash I needed for the trip was Saturday morning. The bank closed at noon. I awoke that morning with a long list of things to accomplish. These were the usual errands of packing and handling business details that needed to be taken care of in order to be away for about twelve days. Every time I would say to myself, "Okay, now to the bank," I would get distracted with something else. As soon as I finished with one thing, there would be another distraction, such as a phone call or a thought of something I could handle "real quick."
This kept going on and on, and I was berating myself. Cheryl, why are you not going to the bank? Time is running out. This is your only time. You have got to go to the bank! Finally, I was driving into the bank parking lot at 11:40 a.m. As I walked to the door, a policeman was standing outside and said, "Sorry, ma'am, the bank is closed." What? I shouted inside my head. Now what am I going ...
Before I could finish my thought, he explained, "There was a bank robbery going on all morning here. We have made arrangements with the other branch down the street. I will radio ahead and let them know you are on your way. They will take care of you there." I thanked the officer, and I turned to leave. As I stepped off the curb, it all made sense to me. No wonder I couldn't get to the bank; I wasn't meant to be there! When I arrived at the other bank, they were waiting for me and cashed my check. As I left, they locked the door behind me. I was the last customer of the day.
Had I arrived when I had wanted to, I could have been part of the group that the robber was holding inside, or who knows whatever else could have transpired. Instead, I kept getting delayed at home while handling other details that I needed to do for my trip, in safety and certainly not with the stress of being inside a bank with a hold-up going on. When these kinds of seemingly Grace-filled experiences occur, Mary and I say, "Thank you, Spirit!"
* * *
Grace may come into our lives and protect us in ways unexpected, and we don't always know how we are being protected. For example, on a given day and time, we may have a hunch not to drive or walk down a particular road and not know why. We may follow our intuitions, and we may never know what did or did not occur on that road. We just know we were not meant to be there. We have learned to trust our intuitions. This incident of not being able to get to the bank was one of the situations that taught me to trust my intuition and the Flow of events. I kept getting interrupted; other things kept popping up to handle. I was criticizing myself for not getting to the bank. At that time in my life, I didn't recognize Grace, Flow, and Ease. I have since learned to trust the Flow of things. There's no need to criticize myself for not getting something done in the way I think it...
