“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them” (Psalm 34:7).
There are angels here among us in our world. They serve God, and they are not without His special purpose. We may call them “guardian angels” or we acknowledge their presence by calling these powerful, messengers of God “our special angels.” Sometimes, we rightly credit them with saving our lives, keeping us from doing something foolish as we likely may do from time to time.
Several years ago, I was approaching a very dangerous railroad crossing. There had been many fatal accidents at this crossing over the years because of the large trees and underbrush that blocked the view of any approaching train from either direction. There were no warning lights or crossing bars, only a wooden sign indicating a railroad crossing. On this near fatal day for me several railroad men were working on the tracks at this crossing. I saw their orange cones they had placed on either side of the tracks and I slowed down since they were working so close to the tracks there in front of me. One of the workers gave me some kind of unrecognizable hand signal I misunderstood to “come on ahead,” and I proceeded to drive across the tracks believing no train was coming, and since the workers themselves were standing so close to the tracks themselves. Mentally, I was prompted by caution but, I was going to go ahead and cross the tracks since I thought I was being instructed to do so. I was no more than 10 feet from the tracks when in my head I heard; “STOP!” The extreme warning was so loud in my ears it sounded just like I had a passenger there in the front seat with me! Responsively, I slammed on my brakes…just as a passing freight train crossed my path doing at least sixty miles per hour! The speeding train was so close I believed some part of the train was going to strike the front end of my truck.
I was so shocked at my near death experience and how close I came to having this train slam into my drivers’ side door that after the train passed and I could pass over the tracks, I had to pull over to the side of the road. I was shaking all over; my mind was unable to process any thought. I was so nearly killed by the train in some ways it all seemed like a terrible nightmare, one I couldn’t awake from.
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