Many Close Calls...Too Close for Comfort

I thought of 3 incidents in which the Lord intervened. Two were for my benefit and the third for my granddaughter.
When I was about 5 yrs old, walking alone ,nonchalantly, down the street where I lived, a small dump truck stopped. The driver called out to me
" Little girl, I need your help...see I hurt myself and I need a doctor." I looked into his truck and I thought he was hurt. I was innocent and didn't know what I saw.
He could see me hesitate and so he pleaded again..." If you just get in and show me how to get to a doctor, I will bring you home."
I was a very sensitive little girl. I shudder, even today, as I can still feel how my heart went out to him. I didn't want him to be hurting.  I remembered that I wasn't supposed to go with strangers but I was still torn. I abruptly said, as I pointed, "You just go down the street and turn and keep going and there are a lot of doctors there" ( I was pointing him towards Main Street) I knew the direction that I was pointing him to, as I had walked with my mother to her doctor many times.
He continued to try to convince me to get in his truck, all the while talking very kindly. He said, " I just don't understand what you are saying...could you just come with me and then I promise I will drive you right home?"
I hesitated again for a split second and PRAISE THE LORD, I said " No, you just go where I told you and you'll find help!" and I turned around and ran home as fast as I could.
I didn't tell my mother until I was in 8th grade , as I was so afraid that I would get in trouble for even talking to that stranger.
Another incident happened in my late teens.
We lived in a tenement house with 4 units. We were all related.. The parking was in back of the house.
One night ,I was going out. I got in the car, started the engine and then turned on the lights. Right in front of the car was a man. I was so scared, I wasn't even able to scream. I hurried to lock my doors and decided to drive away. I wondered later why I didn't just lay on the horn to alert someone that I was in danger.
It was later determined, by a detective, that it was probably a peeping Tom who had recently been looking into my cousin's window. She lived on the first floor.
I went to the Police Station to be interviewed and the detective assured me that...peeping Tom's do not attack or hurt women. Maybe statistically that is so, but it is not true across the board.
I believe God gave me the wherewithal to lock my doors and leave as fast as I could.
The third incident, I marvel at even today. I was at a local park with my toddler granddaughter. We were headed home. The trip home from the park to her condo was a mile.
It was quite sunny, so I put suntan lotion on her, including her face and hands.  What I didn't realize, her eyes started to itch and so she was rubbing  her eyes, the lotion that was on her hands, started to irritate her eyes even more. She was howling and was in a lot of distress. It seemed every step I took towards home, she cried more and got worse. I finally picked her up to carry her because she was so shaken. I carried her, pushing the stroller at the same time.  I realized, I was not going to make it. She was just too heavy. I can't do both. In hindsight, I realized that I should have left the stroller there.
At that point, I was about half way back to the condo.
I thought " Lord, I am not going to make it!"
The next thing I knew, we are at the driveway going into her complex.
Just like that...like we were picked up and plopped there.
I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate that, as I had to get her in the house to administer her emergency allergy medication. It came not one minute too soon, as she was red as a beet and her eyes were swollen shut.
I've often thought of the poem " Footprints" when I drive by that area.
I shudder to think what would have happened if God had not intervened.
I had two near drowning incidents. In one, I was miraculously plucked out of the water by an unknown "person" ( angel?) The other one, I wa given the strength to swim to shore after being repeadedly being pulled under water by a friend who could not swim. (she survived too)
I know there are more close calls when I acted irresponsibly, or when I was threatened and attacked. Then when I didn't have a clue, I was being saved from harm.
I know we were asked the question about A time...but this excercixe made me see just how many times I was saved and I thank God for His protection

Linda Maynard