There was not a whisper of sound behind me. I was walking on the railway tracks lost in thought. I do not know what made me look back and saw this fast-moving train gaining on me. I jumped off the track in the nick of time and this monster whooshed past silently.

Another time I stood at the bus stop staring into space and a bus appeared and did not stop for me. I was still staring and the kitchen with the stove on materialized in my mind’s eye. I was galvanized and ran home like a woman with a purpose. What if the bus had stopped for me? I made a mental note then to stand for a minute and check the house before locking up every time I left.

This time I was home alone in my aunt’s house and time lay heavy on my hands. I pulled out the wastebasket with a couple of papers and went to the backyard to burn them. At one end there was a stockpile of wood, stacked by the house and I lit the papers a distance away. I had not banked on this gentle breeze that rolled the burning papers to the wood which caught fire at once. I can’t explain how I felt and ran helter-skelter for water. I thanked God that day for being able to quench the fire. I was very shaken up and cried a lot when confronted by my aunt.

Many people do not have these second and third chances and calamities happen out of thin air.

I have even been in a car accident where the roof of the car was ripped off. The sharp edges of the roof stopped inches away from my forehead and I got off without even the need of a band-aid.

It brings to mind the beautiful Psalm 23 where it says…For Thou art with me.

When  He has been with me all these past years, surely He will be with me in the future too.

Sheila Ebenezer

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 23 KJV