My husband, Bobby, often says, “We’re always living just inches and seconds away from eternity.” This saying was never more apt than on that particular afternoon when my children were little.
In those days, as a young mother, I babysat my nephew while his mom, Sherry, was at work. He was the same age as my son, Aaron. They played together, and it gave me a little extra money as a stay-at-home mom.
That afternoon, Sherry picked Seth up around 5:00 PM, as usual. We said goodbye, and I quickly returned to the kitchen sink to peel potatoes for dinner. Clearly, my mind was distracted, and I didn’t think about my toddler for a moment.
The unmistakable voice
As I started peeling, I heard these exact words in my head. “Sherry is about to pull out, and you don’t know where Aaron is.” It wasn’t a thought like, Oh, where’s Aaron? It was more as if someone was speaking those exact words directly into my brain.
I promptly threw down the potato and peeler and quickly ran to the door that led from the kitchen into the garage. The garage door was open, and my ten-year-old daughter was standing in the garage opening. I saw the front of Sherry’s car still parked in the driveway, but no sign of Aaron.
My heart was racing. Tara, where’s Aaron? I exclaimed.
She looked up and realized Sherry was about to back out of our driveway. With a horrid look on her face, she screamed at the top of her lungs while extending her arm and hand out to her in a stop motion. Sherry stop!
I ran outside and discovered my young son crouched down directly behind her car. This was before cars had backup mirrors, so there was no way Sherry would have seen him. I ran over, grabbed him up, and held him tight.
Sherry jumped out of the car. “I already had my hand on the shift and was about to put the car in reverse, she cried.” Still shaking, we all breathed a sigh of relief, contemplating the tragedy that almost just happened.
Sherry was so shaken up that she had to wait a few minutes before she could even get back in the car to drive home.
The Lord’s watchful eye
Of course, I’m so thankful for the Holy Spirit, who spoke so plainly to me just in time, before my absent-mindedness almost caused the unthinkable.
Additionally, I’m grateful that my daughter was strategically hanging out where she was at that instant. If she hadn’t been, I doubt I would have reached Sherry in time to tell her to stop the car.
I came within an inch and a second of losing my son that day, and I have no doubt that God was watching out for us! Accidents do happen, of course, and sometimes people get hurt or die. But I’m eternally grateful that the Lord intervened that day and said, “Not this time!”
What about you? Can you recall some close calls in your own life? Do you view narrow escapes as just luck or God’s intervention?
Recalling this incident also makes me wonder how often the Lord intervenes without us even knowing. If we’ve lived very long on this earth, there are plenty of times.
That makes for a good reason to thank God daily for His provision and protection, both for the blessings we see and for those we don’t.
The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand. Psalm 121:5 NIV
