Have you
ever found yourself in a situation that forced you to acknowledge or rethink
the possibility of a supernatural realm?
~
The scar
faced creepy kinda guy stalked me by the peanut butter aisle at Walmart one
evening. “Don’t I know you?” he grinned.
“No” I straightaway replied. This man
looked like a character from the film The Godfather. He asked my name. I promptly made one up. Then he asked me to have dinner with
him. After telling him I don’t have
dinner with men I don’t know, he pulled a phone number from his pocket while
whispering “Call my mother for a reference” (long pause).
“Do you
need some help finding something ma’am?” a petite young voice called out from
below the aisle, interrupting the blundering silence. “Yes, thank you” I responded with a sigh of
relief while advancing towards her.
“That man was out of line to accost you like that. I thought you could use a little help” she
smiled. “You don’t need to walk out
alone when you finish your shopping. I
will call the security officer to walk out with you when you are ready to
leave.”
After
picking up a few extra necessities and hesitantly checking out, the security
officer walked me to my car. Like a wise
and caring father, he instructed me not to go directly home in the event I was
being followed. So I drove around town,
carefully attentive of each automobile that passed me until I felt I could
safely return home. The next evening I
saw the stalker on the local televised news.
I recognized the scar on his forehead.
He had moved on to the next city where he had kidnapped and raped a woman.
~
I was
enjoying my lunch break at the nearby bookstore. “Can I ask you a question?” A clean cut, nice looking guy was peeking out
from behind the children’s book aisle.
“Would you like to grab a bite to eat?”
I told him I had already had lunch and was just enjoying some quiet time
in the bookstore. The guy continued to
persist. A woman standing nearby
interrupted the awkward moment with a tap on my shoulder. She asked me if I was familiar with the
author of the book she was holding and if I would help her find a particular
series. When the overly persistent guy
finally left, the woman told me she had observed the man following me around
the store. She relayed her disquieted
spirit and sense of urgency to distract this man away from me. After further review of the situation, we
decided to notify the police. During the
briefing, the police officers disclosed to us that they had been looking for a
man who fit our description. He had abducted a woman at the local ATM, drove to
a secluded area and raped her.
Surveillance cameras and other witnesses in the store would verify the
man’s description. I returned to work a
bit shaken but filled with gratitude for the observant and proactive woman who
cared enough to pay attention to the voice within.
~
I was
waiting to meet up with a friend at a local conference center on the lake. I decided to enjoy the man-made beach area
while I waited. It was a quiet southern
mid morning. I did not notice anyone
else on the beach. About 15 minutes into
my relaxing sun bath I must have dozed off.
I was awakened by a male voice.
“Will you let me know if you see anything”? Squinting from the bright sunlight shining in
my eyes, I noticed a blonde haired man, approximately mid thirties towering
just above me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t
understand you correctly” I responded.
“Will you let me know if you see anything?” I sat up, uncertain as to what he meant. He walked a few feet ahead of me and repeated
his question while turning towards me, grinning. He was wearing totally transparent swimming
trunks. I was stunned and feeling a bit
fearful realizing I was isolated on the beach with this strange man. Suddenly, like a whisper from heaven, I heard
a gentle voice. Kneeling beside me, a
petite woman with large dark eyes asked me if I would like to join her family
further down the beach. Behind the
woman, a tall handsome man glared at the scantily clad stranger. Immediately gathering my personal belongings,
I more than graciously accepted. On our
stroll down the beach, the woman told me that she had been enjoying military
leave with her husband at the resort and conference center. They had seen the man ebbing his way towards
me and grew concerned. Within minutes,
two USA Airman
heroes were leading the perverted man away from the beach.
~
I had
traveled this road daily en route to the hospital. A gentle fog coveted the landscape. The last stretch of secluded highway was
hilly and my little Toyota would
require an extra boost of gas to make it to the top. Just as I was mounting the peak of my ritual
ascent, I suddenly froze in terror. Head
on in front of me, the wide-eyed, fear stricken face of an elderly gentleman
stared back from behind the wheel of a
newer model Cadillac. Arms outstretched, hands tightly clinching the steering
wheel of his car, the sounds of brake pads and rubber meeting road broke the
sobering silence of morning. And then
all was quiet. The smell of burning
rubber and brake pads was all that was left of those terrifying moments.
I heard
a tap at the window of my car. A
distinguished looking older gentleman gestured for me to roll down my
window. “Are you OK?” I nodded in affirmation. “Young lady, you did an excellent job
handling your car. You saved your life
and the life of that elderly fellow.” He
told me to keep my seat belt on, stay in the car and try not to move. He reassured me that the police were on the
way. What he didn’t tell me was that the
front end of my car was dangling over the peak of the incline. He stayed with me until the police arrived
moments later.
Other
than being observed for shock, the elderly driver had not been harmed. No damage was done to either automobile. My little Toyota
was pulled to safety. When I inquired as
to the distinguished fellow who had stayed with me, the police officer looked
puzzled. He had no knowledge of him. The officer told me that he had unintentionally
taken that road on his way home and “happened” upon the accident. No one had notified the police or emergency
responders. There was no other person
there when he arrived and he had seen no other automobiles in the area. This
incident happened just prior to the era of personal cell phones.
I
remember nothing of what happened in those few seconds after seeing the face of
that elderly driver frozen in fear.
Whose hands were steering my little Toyota? Whose were guiding mine?
Whoever or whatever these
messenger protectors were…
I
Believe!
~Cordelia
Darlene~
How
precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the
shadow of your wings.
New Living
Translation
