A band of angels comin' after me; comin' for to carry me home.

I had just returned from track practice with the kids.  It was 5:15 and they were at the kitchen table starting their homework.  My 92-year-old father-in-law (we call him Grampa) was complaining to me that his wrist hurt.

I took a look at the wrist and it looked  red and a little swollen.  A quick check of my email confirmed that he had called my brother-in-law and complained to him about the pain.

My husband was out of town so I sent the  kids to my mom's house and put Grampa in the car.  I wanted to make sure his wrist wasn't fractured so we headed to Urgent Care.

On the way, along a road that I had traveled many times, I caught my breath.

The sky was a dark, silvery blue. The sun was shining in front of the clouds, if that makes any sense, and cast a beautiful glow on the budding trees and the new grass in the fields.  Every shade of green imaginable was illuminated in front of the backdrop of the dark sky.

Words can't even begin to describe how beautiful this sight was.  I felt like I was seeing God.

A few seconds later, I rounded a curve.  The scenery changed and once more, things looked exactly as they normally did on this road I had taken many times before.

We got to the Urgent Care, filled out paperwork and saw the doctor.

Luckily there was no break in the wrist.  Perhaps his arthritis had flared up.  Or, perhaps, Grampa sprained it somehow. Tylenol was all he needed.

We headed back to the car.  It was dark and a light rain began to fall as the wind picked up.

I turned the car toward home and decided to see what was on the radio.

The song that had been playing was interrupted by a loud signal and words warning of thunderstorms, heavy lightning, and high winds.  Do not get in your car.  Do not try to travel until the storms have passed. Stay inside your homes, the weather-service announcer cautioned.

I'm sure we will be fine, I thought.  It's just a little rain.   I do hate driving at night in the rain but I'm sure we will be fine.

The winds continued to pick up.  The lightening was striking around us and the rain poured down.

I lowered my speed to 20 because I couldn't see anything in front of me.

The rain continued to pound the car.

I asked God to get us home safely and was immediately at peace.

Even though I had never driven through a storm that bad, I was at  peace.  It no longer felt like I was driving.  It felt  like my car was being carried through the storm.

Just like when Elijah prayed for God to open his servant's eyes so that the servant could see the army of God's angels surrounding them and protecting them, I could sense these same angels surrounding my car.

We made it home safely.  I knew we would.

Once back home, Grampa began to proclaim to anyone that would listen that I should get an award for best driver.  I just chuckled.

I knew who really should get that award.