Under thy wings …

“He will cover you with his pinions and under his wings , you will find refuge ”

Psalm 91:4

Right from childhood, I have prayed for divine protection. In fact , during my teenage years, my prayer had even shrunk into a loud “God , protect me ! “before I turned in for the night . And He did, despite my foolish misadventures,He kept me safe under his wings .

One such incident that is indelibly etched on my mind involves my son . He must have been 4 or 5 years at that time and I was a super busy mom , driving him around the city for his intervention classes.

On evening I was rushing back after his speech therapy session, keen to get back home before the traffic becomes unmanageable.The sign of a popular bakery caught my eye and I remembered that Daddy ,who was visiting us ,would love to have something to munch on,with his evening tea .

Without a thought, I swerved the car from the main road to the cross road and parked it near the entrance of the bakery, promising my son that I would be back in a jiffy . At that time my son spoke only in two word combinations and that too in a very feeble voice . Unfortunately, there were already some customers waiting at the counter and it took me some more time to come out of the bakery,than I had imagined.

To my horror, I realized that the car was not at the entrance; nor was it on that cross road . I was too shocked even to think . Just then a young boy came by in his bike and asked me if I was looking for my car and I answered in the affirmative. “Is that the one ?”,he asked ,pointing to the other side of the main road .

Sure enough, it was my car . The car had slid down the cross road to the main road , down to the cross road on the other side and had come to a standstill , resting against Autorickshaw that was parked on the side!! There was a crowd of curious drivers and passers by around it too..

I raced across the main road my eyes straining to catch the little disheveled head in the car . And there he was , standing on the seat, looking confused.He hadn’t cried out apparently, possibly because he didn’t realise what was happening.

I jumped into the car ,shivering; the auto drivers were already making noisy demands, justifiably so ,for the dent caused by my car .

After handing over whatever money I had with me , I sat inside all shaken,feeling let down – How could you let this happen , God ! my mind cried out silently ” Didn’t you hear us singing of your glory on our way ? Didn’t you hear us asking for your protection? ”

With trembling hands, I switched on the ignition, only to be startled by a firm knock on the window. It a man , presumably an auto driver , with long , unkempt hair & strange gleaming eyes . I was scared, yet I rolled down the window.

The man gave a very toothy smile and said in his broken English, “Madam , God bless son, Madam .. Main road , Bus come Madam ”

My mouth went dry as I understood the gravity of the situation. Strangely enough no buses had passed by , all this time ! I gulped and managed ‘Yes’ in a hoarse whisper..

While driving back , I found it difficult to hold my tears

Wasn’t it my mistake that I had forgotten about the hand brake totally? How could I not see the mighty hand of God covering my son as the car cut across the busy street where buses are a common sight ?

I do sometimes pass through that road.. The bakery has gone ; the street has become busier ; But my heart still leaps with joy as my mind travels back in time , to that beautiful evening when not only God preserved my son but sent a stranger to open my eyes !