This past Advent, as we prepared our hearts for the coming of our Lord, I experienced His closeness in a way I’d never felt before.  On a chilly December morning, my mother-in-law and I set out to enjoy a special day with family and friends.  Every Tuesday and Friday, she provides home health care for her parents in a nearby suburb; that Tuesday I planned to drop her off at their house, bring dinner to a friend and snuggle her new baby, and then head back to pick up my mother-in-law and let my 17 month old son have some quality time with his great-grandparents.  As I chatted with my friend, enjoying her cozy couch and sweet little baby, a drizzly rain began to fall.  I didn’t think much of it, and while spending the later hours with my son’s great grandparents, I enjoyed the beautiful snow then falling gently.  We turned out their lights and spent a few moments looking out the picture window, just gazing at the black and white winter world their back yard had become.  It was a peaceful, hot chocolate kind of afternoon.

Like always though, it was a different story once we stepped outside.  Tucked away next to a forest preserve, their neighborhood remained untouched by plows or salt trucks—and I felt a few butterflies while just braking gently for a stop sign.  Naturally, our return trip was slow going; sloshy snow and quickly-freezing rain made for treacherous road conditions.  We inched along cautiously, happy to take our time with extra vigilance.

As we filled up with gas, preparing to hop on the expressway and head home, I felt calm and reveled in a happy day’s memories.  But just as I was about to pull out of the station, I felt a strong need to pray.  As I asked for the protection of our guardian angels, my mind filled with a picture of three angels strategically positioned around our car—one at the front passenger side, one on the driver’s side, and one at the back bumper.  They seemed to be lifting our car with their wings, an idea that seemed strange to me at the time.  I remember thinking, “Why are they holding us with their wings?  Don’t they have hands?” and dismissing the image without another thought.

It wasn’t long though, before the meaning of the vision became crystal clear.  While maneuvering the expressways towards our home, we must have hit a patch of black ice.  Without warning, the car began to fishtail.  Time slowed down.  My thoughts seemed almost methodical as I attempted to gradually correct our path.  But the tires continued to slip.  The car spun out of control, and we turned in a circle across the inner two lanes, coming to a stop facing the wrong direction—facing oncoming traffic.  As I stared at those approaching headlights, though, I felt an incredible sense of peace.  The Lord was so close, and even though I didn’t know what was about to happen, I felt an overwhelming sense of His presence.

I still don’t know how every car was able to come to a gradual stop.  No one swerved or slammed on brakes.  Every car slowed and stopped.  Although shaken, I forced myself to turn the car around and continue on our way.  It wasn’t until we were safe in our driveway, that I allowed the tears to flow.

This experience terrified me.  I can’t think of how close we came to getting hit—on the side of the car where my toddler slept peacefully in his car seat.  But after a cup of hot chocolate (double chocolate meltdown) and a meltdown of the emotional variety, I retained a strong sense of the spiritual nature of the experience.  I can still feel the soft touch on my hands as I held the wheel—like long thick gloves encasing my arms.  And I couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that, just the day before, my mother-in-law and I had completed St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration to Jesus through Mary.  What a reminder that our lives truly belong to Him, and that our blessed Mother, Queen of the Angels, intercedes for us always.

And wouldn’t you know it?  The following week’s mass readings put the final pieces of my angel picture together.  Isaiah 40:31—“They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings.” Now I know why the angels weren’t using their hands.

Copyright 2009 Anne McClure