A Dog in the Road
"I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (Ps. 91:2 NIV)
I remember when I first graduated
college. I was already married with a baby son. I had an education
degree but full time teaching jobs where I lived were scarce. For a
few years then I did my best to make ends meet by substituting as much
as possible. I would get up early each morning and hope for the phone
to ring. A call meant work and every penny counted. On one
particularly cold morning I got a call to work at a grade school 15
miles away. Only a light snow coated the roads so I wasn’t worried
about the trip. What I didn’t realize, though, was that water from the
previous day’s rain had frozen on a patch of the road before the snow
covered it. This was on a part of the road that curved around the edge
of a mountain. Going off on one side of the road would land you in a
ditch but going off the other could send you over the side of the
mountain.
As I approached the dangerous spot I was going faster than I should. I
wanted to make it to the school before the classes started. Just
before I reached it, however, I saw a dog walking in my lane of the
road. I braked early to avoid hitting the pooch and then was about to
speed up again when I hit the black ice. Thankfully, the angel with
paws had made me slow down enough that I was able to steer the car
back towards the ditch and away from the edge of the mountain curve. I
only needed a tow instead of a trip to the hospital or mortuary. I
guess God wasn’t quite ready for me to leave this life yet.
Albert Einstein said, "God doesn’t play dice." This is true for the
world and for our lives. As I look back upon that day I can see God’s
loving handiwork in it. I think He still had more for me to learn and
do in this life. I just pray that I don’t waste a moment of it. I pray
that I make everyday I have left a loving gift to my Heavenly Father
who made me. May you do the same.
By: Joseph J. Mazzella