Protection, Potatoes, and Guardian Angels

People talk about Guardian Angels. Anytime we come close to danger, have a near miss or close call, we think and even say, that "man, you must have an angel watching over you". While I'm not convinced that heaven is organized with heavenly beings assigned to each of us specifically, to guard only us day and night, I can tell you, first hand, what it is like to have an Angel offer you protection.

I was seventeen, with my driver's permit in hand, driving around my mom in her little blue Kia. She had food deliveries for a few church friends, and I was her chauffeur for the day.  

We were heading to the Coleman's, who I hadn't seen in ages (by my internal timepiece). When we arrived, I was immediately swept away by Austin, the 8 year old boy who was dying to show me his new video-game. He led me to his room, and there sitting on his floor was his cousin, Angel. The last time I had seen her she was a toddler, barely talking, and now here she was, a cute little girl with black hair, maybe six years old already. I couldn't believe how much the pair had grown.

Soon, Angel was bouncing on the bed as she told me the entire history of every Barbie doll she owned. Whenever Austin interrupted to explain a trick he was doing on his game, Angel would admonish him swiftly and continue her tale. I listened with a grin, while splitting my gaze dutifully between her and the game, trying to satisfy both children. 

Finally, my mom came into the room to reclaim me, and Angel begged me to stay a little longer. I explained I had to leave, because I was driving today. She gasped. 

"You drove here?" Her little eyes grew wide. 

"Sure did," I answered with a smile. My mom nodded her confirmation. 

"Oh! Wait right here!" Angel held her hands up to motion me to stay and darted out of the room, her small feet pounding through the house. When she returned, she held a floppy blue and pink stuffed butterfly. "Here!" She dropped it into my hands. "This is for you!"

"For me?" I asked with a laugh, taking her gift gently.

"Uh huh. To keep you safe while driving." She hugged me tight and my heart warmed, and that afternoon, the butterfly sat on mom's dashboard, my own little protector. 

A few weeks later, I got my license and turned 18. I went off to college, and that Christmas, I got my first car; a 2001 Chevy Impala, which I quickly named the Potato. 

Before I drove off to school, my mom rushed over to her vehicle, retrieved the butterfly, and handed it to me. "Got to have it to keep you safe," she reminded me.

With a laugh I took it, and placed it ceremoniously before my steering wheel.  Angel's butterfly sat there for the next two years, sliding around my dashboard and staring out the window. Half the time I forgot it was there, but it turns out, the butterfly guarded me well.

Yesterday, my dad took the Potato to another friend of ours, a dealer and a mechanic. A few hours later, my father came home and proclaimed my car dead. Turns out that she had a gas leak and the engine mounts were shot. At any point during the last few months (or, perhaps even at any point during my two years of driving the car), my gas tank could have blown up or my engine could have slid right through the hood of my vehicle. 

I was shocked. I thought the Potato just needed an oil change and a new filter thinga-majig . Come to find out is was a miracle the car had lasted so long , and that I had never been injured. You might say I had an angel watching over me.

Now, I don't believe in signs. I don't believe my car's breakdown means anything, like I shouldn't drive or whatever. But, I do believe in hints, and I certainly believe in reminders. 

I take this break down as a hint to treasure life. We live in a world of risk, a world of random chemicals in our food, rising seas and melting ice caps, and used cars that breakdown without warning. It's a miracle that any of us get through a day alive.

That's the funny thing about life. Every moment truly is a miracle, a daily gift from God that we receive only by His grace. Every single one of us could breathe our last breath at any moment without warning, and yet, we live without worrying where our next breath will come from.

And we can live with even less worry when we know that we have a Lord who cares about us, who is in complete control of our world. I do believe I was protected while I was driving around the past two years, not by a butterfly, but by the Maker of the Heavens and Earth, whose love is offers all the protection I need.  ( Now, whether He used an angel to guard me... that's yet to be determined. ;) ). 

So when I do get another car, I'm going to stick that butterfly right back on my dashboard. Not as some talisman against evil, but as a reminder. A reminder that every single day has risk, that every moment is a gift, and most of all, as a reminder to not live life afraid. The God of the Universe is my protector, and I want to thank Him daily for the life He's given me.