We all have close calls, those times when we know we have come face to face with eternity. Our heart rate skyrockets and adrenalin kicks in to reaction quickly. Sometimes we look back and wonder how we survived our childhood, considering the dangerous risks we took just for the fun of it. Sometimes we look back and see how we were plucked out of situations that could have ended disastrously.
My husband, Rick, has had numerous close calls in his life. When he was a boy and living in Jordan, his family scheduled a photo safari in Kenya. At the last minute, they had to cancel because Dad Bill got a call from the airline he directed that he was needed. The Mau Mau Uprising sent tribesmen on a rampage, killing every white person they could find in the same area where Rick and his parents would have camped.
When Rick served in Vietnam, he stood guard duty one night. He stepped down and headed into a bunker when a rocket hit exactly where he had been standing.
Shortly after Rick and I were married, the company for which he worked (an aircraft engine overhaul company) decided to transfer him to Tehran, Iran, as an advisor. Another job popped up and he decided to take it instead. Had we gone to Iran, we may have been among the hostages that were kept for over 440 days and our first born would have been born in captivity.
Several years ago, Rick took our eldest son, Trevor, to Egypt on a Commerce Department business trip. They visited Queen Hatshepsut’s tomb and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo very close to the Nile Hilton where they were staying. The day after they left, terrorists bombed the Nile Hilton and murdered dozens of European tourists at Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb.
Rick took our eldest son fishing in British Columbia. The one and only time he forgot to check for a map and compass, he got lost in heavy fog. They knew they were close to shipping lanes and in danger of being run down in a small fishing boat. He tried to dead reckon back to shore, but couldn’t find it. So he prayed, “Lord, if anyone has to die because of my mistake, please don’t let it be Trevor.” As soon as he finished praying, the fog lifted and they found themselves right at the mouth of the cove where their camp was located.
I sometimes wonder how many other times the Lord has intervened or sent angels in disguise to protect us.