Barbara was driving her six-year-old son,
Benjamin, to his piano lesson. They were late,
and Barbara was beginning to think she should
have cancelled it. There was always so much to
do, and Barbara, a night-duty nurse at the local
hospital, hadrecently worked extrashifts. She was
tired. The sleet storm and icy roads added to
hertension. Maybe she should turn the car
around.
“Mom!” Ben cried. “Look!” Just ahead, a car had
lost control ona patch of ice. As Barbara tapped
the brakes, the other car spun wildly rolled over,
then crashed sideways into a telephone pole.
Barbara pulled over, skidded to a stop and threw
open her door. Thank goodness she was a nurse
– she might be able to help these unfortunate
passengers. Then she paused. What about Ben?
She couldn’t takehim with her. Little boys
shouldn’t see scenes like the one she
anticipated. But was it safe to leave him alone?
What if their car were hit from behind?
For a brief moment Barbara considered going on
her way. Someone else was sure to come along.
No! “Ben, honey, promise me you’ll stay in the
car!” “I will, Mommy,” he saidas she ran, slipping
and sliding toward the crash site. It was worse
than she’d feared.
Two girls of high school age are in the car. One,
the blond on the passenger side, was dead, killed
on impact. The driver, however was still
breathing. She was unconscious and pinned in
the wreckage. Barbara quickly applied pressure
to the wound in the teenager’s head whileher
practiced eye catalogued the other injuries. A
broken leg, maybe two, along with probable
internal bleeding. But if help came soon, thegirl
would live.
A trucker had pulled up and was calling forhelp
on his cellular phone. Soon Barbara heard the
ambulance sirens. A few moments later she
surrendered her lonely post to rescue workers.
“Good job,” one said as he examined the driver’s
wounds. “You probably saved her life, ma’am.”
Perhaps. But as Barbara walked back to her car
a feeling of sadness overwhelmedher, especially
for the family of the girl whohad died. Their lives
would never be the same. Oh, God, why do such
things have to happen?
Slowly Barbara opened her car door. What should
she tell Benjamin? He was staring at the crash
site, his blue eyes huge. “Mom,” he whispered,
“did you see it?” “See what, Honey?” she asked.
“The angel, Mom! He came down from the sky
while you were running to the car. And he
opened the door, and he took thatgirl out.”
Barbara’s eyes filled with tears. “Which door,
Ben?” “The passenger side. He took the girl’s
hand, and they floated up toHeaven together”
“What about the driver?” Ben shrugged. “I didn’t
see anyone else.”
Later, Barbara was able to meet the families of
the victims. They expressed their gratitude for
the help she had provided. Barbara was able to
give them something more – Ben’s vision.
There was no way he could have known what
happened to either of the passengers. Nor
couldthe passenger door have been opened;
Barbara had seen its tangle of immovable steel
herself. Yet Ben’saccount brought consolation to
a grieving family. Their daughter was safe in
Heaven. And they would see her again.