A DOG IN THE ROAD

I remember when I first graduated college.
I was already married with a baby son.
I had an education degree but full time teaching jobs
where I lived were scarce.
For a few years then I did my best to make
ends meet by substituting as much as possible.
I would get up early each morning and
hope for the phone to ring.
A call meant work and every penny counted.

On one particularly cold morning
I got a call to work at a grade school 15 miles away.
Only a light snow coated the roads so I
wasn't worried about the trip.
What I didn't realize, though, was that
water from the previous day's rain
had frozen on a patch of the road
before the snow covered it.
This was on a part of the road that curved
around the edge of a mountain.
Going off on one side of the road
would land you in a ditch but
going off the other could send you over the
side of the mountain.

As I approached the dangerous spot
I was going faster than I should.
I wanted to make it to the school
before the classes started.

Just before I reached it, however,
I saw a dog walking in my lane of the road.
I braked early to avoid hitting the pooch
and then was about to speed up again
when I hit the black ice.
Thankfully, the angel with paws
had made me slow down enough
that I was able to steer the car back
towards the ditch and away
from the edge of the mountain curve.
I only needed a tow instead of a trip
to the hospital or mortuary.
I guess God wasn't quite ready
for me to leave this life yet.

Albert Einstein said,
"God doesn't play dice."
This is true for the world and for our lives.
As I look back upon that day I can see God's
loving handiwork in it.
I think He still had more for me to learn
and do in this life.
I just pray that I don't waste a moment of it.
I pray that I make everyday I have left
a loving gift to my Heavenly Father who made me.

May you do the same!
By: Joseph J. Mazzella