(indent)About a half mile down the road, railroad tracks came into view. An express train was speeding across the intersection. As soon as Fran saw the train, she applied the brakes, but the car didn’t slow down. Apparently, the brakes had become wet and weren’t working.
(indent)Fran’s heart began beating faster as she stomped on the brakes, pushing the pedal all the way to the floorboard. Still, the car kept rolling. She was fast approaching a car waiting for the train dead ahead. Fran was panic-stricken.
(indent)“Lord, help me!” she prayed aloud as she frantically kept pumping the brakes.
(indent)Then Fran did the only thing left to do: she turned the wheel hard and swerved to the left, avoiding the car in front of her. Now she was headed directly toward the train.
What happened next took only seconds. (Excerpted from “Angel Intervention”)
(indent)While these two men appeared to be detectives—searching for missing people and posting their pictures—they were actually undercover assassins. They had killed a large number of victims, and no one knew about it.
They didn’t mind telling Mike about their real job—he wouldn’t live to tell anyone about it.
All this time, the burly man had the pistol pointed at Mike. Now he was growing angry, his hands shaking.
(indent)“I’d really rather kill you in a more painful way,” he growled. “I want to see you suffer!”
(indent)Looking into the face of this angry man, Mike realized his life could very well end at any second. He didn’t want to die—he was only twenty-three years old. Mike started praying silently. He knew God could save him, because He’d already done so on several occasions. (Excerpted from “Held at Gunpoint”)
(indent)Shortly after Neal’s birth, something happened that still intrigued Kathleen. Her husband Harry woke early one morning, and glanced towards the foot of the bed to the crib where their newborn son lay sleeping. What he saw was unbelievable. There stood a beautiful, elegant woman with blonde hair, leaning over Neal’s crib. She wore a long, transparent lavender gown, with a deep purple band around the hem.
(indent)Harry quickly nudged Kathleen, but before he could wake her, the woman moved away and disappeared. He described to his wife what he’d seen and added, “I think it was an angel!” (Excerpted from “Lord, Let Him Be Okay”)
(indent)Debbie got back into the van.
(indent)“Now what are we going to do?” Brian asked, a worried look on his face.
(indent)“We have to pray, Brian. We’re in a bad situation, but we’re going to claim the promises of the Bible that God is going to help us. We have to have faith.”
(indent)They held hands as Debbie asked the Lord to send someone to help them. In Debbie’s mind, the best option would be for a policeman to come to their rescue. After all, it was dark and rainy, and they were in a remote area. Heaven only knows who might happen along on this side of the city. Yes, a policeman would be someone they could trust.
(indent)They just sat there for a little while, praying and waiting.
(indent)Just then lights approached from behind. It was a police car, coming fast!
But it zoomed on by without stopping. They just sat and stared as the red taillights disappeared out of sight. Here they were, hood up, flashers blinking, stranded, and their answer to prayer had left them alone in the dark. (Excerpted from “Stranded on a Dark Night”)
(indent)About two weeks later Colette was waiting in the circle for her riders when she saw Darren approaching her bus. (italics)Oh no, here he comes again. I hope I don’t have a problem with him again.(end italics) An aide from the other bus stuck her head in the door to tell Colette that they’d had a hard time with Darren on their bus that day.
(indent)Immediately a feeling of dread engulfed her. Would he be angry and resentful because Colette had been forced to write him up? He undoubtedly knew that if he received too many write-ups, he’d be kicked off the bus. It had already happened to him last year.
(indent)Colette shot up a quick prayer that she wouldn’t have any problems. She asked God for peace on the bus. Then she made sure the special-needs boy was up front with the younger children so he wouldn’t irritate Darren.
(indent)After boarding the bus, Darren walked to the back and sat down with a boy who began showing him card tricks. He seemed calmer.
(indent)During the drive Colette kept her eye on the back of the bus, praying the whole time. There were no disruptions. So far, so good. One by one the children got off the bus, until only Darren was left.
(indent)After the last passenger had gone, Darren got out of his seat and walked to the front. He sat down behind Colette. She was extremely nervous. Oh great, no one is on the bus. What is he going to do? Excerpted from (“The Boy in the Backward Baseball Cap”)
(indent)Anne was now alone in the house. Her parents were gone, and she and Karl never had children. Normally a steady, positive person who didn’t show her emotions, she found herself often in tears. But even in her grief, Anne felt a strong sense of God’s presence in the house, assuring her she wasn’t really alone. The Presence never left.
(indent)Anne stayed in the farmhouse that had been home all her life. She wasn’t at all worried. “The Lord will provide,” she told her friends. “I’ve seen it happen.” (Excerpted from “Never Alone”)
(indent)“My husband’s recovery was painstakingly long and involved: a roller-coaster ride of high achievements and discouraging lows. We leaned heavily upon the Lord. God directed us through a maze of circumstances. . .
(indent)I soon forgot about the lace in the day-to-day challenges: keeping my husband’s spirits high, mixing milkshakes to make sure he didn’t run out of energy, and staying positive. We celebrated any milestone with pizza, lots of pizza.
(indent)Over time I grew spiritually fatigued, as if I had run out of words of encouragement and hope. It seemed like I’d also forgotten about God’s care. I prayed, “Please do something to let me know You’re still there!”
(indent)As soon as I spoke those words, I felt guilty. God had done so much. I decided to count my blessings and get on with life.
(indent)The very next day a fat, bright pink envelope arrived in the mail. . .” (Excerpted from “Wilna’s Surprise”)