I remember a couple of years ago, a winter storm had arrived. The snow was coming down, the wind was blowing hard, and it was hard to see in front of you. On top of that, you couldn’t tell where the center or edge of the road was. The time was around 11:45 p.m. There wasn’t much traffic, but enough of it that made you wonder what all of these people were doing out on the road at this time on a Sunday night and driving in this snowstorm.

We have in our area a limited-access highway that is known, or people call it, the bypass. The bypass is an east and west highway that runs across two counties in Indiana and starts in Michigan. This bypass is known for hundreds of accidents, and because it is an east and west highway, travel on it in the winter is always hazardous.

I was heading home from the worksite that Sunday night, with the storm in full swing. I was tired, wanting to get home, stressed because of the winter storm, and could hardly see the road or traffic until you got close. Traveling at 30 to 35 miles an hour was still dangerous because there was no way you were going to stop in time if someone or something all of a sudden jumped in front of you.

The snow was very heavy, full of moisture, and sticking to everything. Not wanting to pull over, but also knowing I had to because my headlights had collected enough snow that it was almost like driving with no lights on. I slowly pulled over, got out, cleaned my lights off, and continued on my way home.

Five minutes after I had stopped, I came up on a major crash. A semi-truck had pulled over to the side of the road with its flashers on. Upon approaching this crash, as rescue personnel had not gotten there yet, I saw three cars in the ditch, two against the concrete divider, and a car with the right front side halfway under the semi trailer.

I carefully drove past the collision, pulled over, and walked back to the scene to see if anyone was hurt or needed attention until emergency crews got there.

I believe God gives each one of us guardian angels that go before us to keep us safe. They create instincts or events that make you do something you would not have otherwise done. In this instance, my guardian angel had made enough snow get on my headlights that I had to pull over to clear it. Those moments it took me to stop, clean, and resume saved me from being in that collision I came upon minutes later.

I don’t believe in luck. Believing in luck means you really don’t trust God, you don’t think prayer does any good, and you have very little faith.

Everything we do and everything that happens, God has total control.

Why do bad things happen then, if God is in control? Bad things happen because of sin in the world.

We need to realize that the choices we make, the little voices we hear in our heads, and how we act upon them will all depend on what we truly believe.

Nothing happens by chance. If it’s not from God, then it’s from Satan. Yes, it’s that black and white.

As for guardian angels, I know mine is real. If you listen, you will know when the angel is telling you to do or not do something. That little voice in your head that tells you to pull over and clean your headlights, tells you not to take that flight, or tells you to wait until morning.

Pay attention to what those voices are telling you. Obviously, you need to use discernment, but if it’s wholesome, just, and causes no conflict with the teachings of Christ, then make your choice to do them or not.

I have barely touched the surface on this topic, so it would certainly be worthwhile to take a deeper study on angels.

I did arrive safely home that night, and I give thanks to the Lord for providing me with my guardian angel that kept me from being in an accident.

May God’s peace always abide in you.