I pulled back the curtain to take a peek at the weather. Just then a flash of lightning exploded in the sky. Rain pounded against the glass and a boom of thunder made me shudder. “Worried about Eric?” my husband, Bob, asked.
Of course I was worried about Eric! Ever since our son had taken a job as a salesman I’d worried about him traveling. Tonight he’d be driving 150 miles to get home in this storm. So many things could go wrong on the road. I prayed for him every day, and I liked knowing other people were praying too, like Eric’s brother and sister. Even my three-year-old grandson. Parker prayed for everyone in the family. He asked God to bless Bob and me, for his uncle to have a good day, for his mommy to make his favorite thing for dinner. Parker wasn’t old enough to understand the dangers Eric might face, but every prayer helped.
The phone rang and I ran to answer it. It was Eric. He spoke haltingly, as if he’d had a terrible scare. “Mom, my car’s been hit by lightning.”
“Are you all right?”
“I called 911,” Eric said. “They told me not to touch anything. An officer just pulled up. I have to go.”
Bob and I found out which hospital Eric was being taken to and rushed there. He was alert and seemed fine. “Lightning flashed across the windshield and hood of my car,” he said. “The hair on my arms stood up and I felt an electrical surge go through my body. With a boom of thunder the engine died and the power steering locked the wheel to the right. I skidded off the highway.
Even after I came to a stop, electrical sparks bounced all over the hood…”
“Your son is fortunate,” the doctor said. “He must have someone looking out for him.”
I got home that night and immediately called my daughter, Lori. “It’s like Parker’s prayers,” she said. “For the last two months Parker has prayed the same prayer for Eric every night. When I tried to get him to say something different, he was adamant. Every night it’s these exact words: ‘God, keep Uncle Eric safe.’”
Eric still travels, and I still worry (I’m his mom, after all). But I know God hears our prayers. Eric has someone looking out for him, all right—just ask Parker.
