For instance, I know that if there are little pebbles scattered over asmooth rock, I’m liable to slip if I step on those little pebbles, so I’mcareful not to. I’m not afraid, it’s just the sensible thing to do.
On Divine Protection.
Recently, while I was leading a group of people on an educationaland inspirational tour of four of the Hawaiian Islands, a policemanwarned us not to sleep on the beach. It seems there had been amurder on that beach. I was very concerned about all the fear beingperpetuated on those beautiful islands. I had no fear. One member ofthe group tried to tell me about the dangers of the beach. I said toher, “All of us are under the protection of my guardian angel.” Andwe didn’t have the slightest incident on any beach.
We were on the beach one night where I think we were the onlyAnglos. . Several people came up and onesaid, “A few years back I saw you on television.” It must have beenfive years before, on my first visit to the islands.They even asked forautographs! So I think we should not be apprehensive. I don’t thinkthat apprehension can do anything except attract. “That which I fearedcame upon me.” I felt perfectly safe on the beach and I felt my wholecrowd was protected, and they were.
I have a sense of definite protection.Twice I have felt the need toget out of cars I was riding in, and once I saw why. Now, I didn’t getout of the car when I was coming down over the “grapevine” into LosAngeles with two high school students. They were seeing how fastthey could get the old Chevy to go down hill. I was in the back seatand I felt perfectly all right.
But one time I was with a man who was drinking whisky, and Ioffered to drive for him. I showed him my driver’s license, but hewouldn’t let me drive, so I asked him to let me off at the junction.
Then I was picked up in a little truck, and we hadn’t gone even fivemiles before we saw the other car. It had gone down into an arroyoand sideswiped a cottonwood tree. On the side where I had been theglass was broken and the roof was bashed in. So at once I saw why Ifelt the need to get out. The driver wasn’t badly hurt. He was cutsome but not really hur The entire room was faced with polished granite..
Another time I did not see any result, but I felt the need to getout.This man was driving recklessly. He would cross over the doublecenter line and pass cars when he couldn’t see at all. So I got out. Ithen got in with a man who was going east at the junction and thereforeI never saw what happened to the other car. I don’t know. I hopenothing.
So a certain amount of being sensible is good, such as looking upand down a street before you cross, but certainly not the kind offoolish fears many human beings have.You see, if you’re going to befearful—let’s say, about sleeping on a beach—you must be terrifiedevery time you sleep in your own home. Look how many people arekilled in their own home. Or when you sleep in a hotel room. Lookhow many people are killed in hotel rooms. This can lead to ridiculousbehavior.
I do have a sense of complete protection. If I had felt in any waylike I felt in those two cars, I would have taken the whole crowd offthe beach. However, I felt absolute protection; I hadn’t the slightestapprehension. I knew we were perfectly safe when we stayed on thebeach.
There are many things we do not fully understand.We just knowthey happen. For instance, I have been kept from some things thatcould have hurt me. I was walking down a lane which I knew to be asmall lane.The trees met overhead. I could not really see where I wasgoing, but I knew this lane through prior experience, and I could seelight at the end of the tunnel. Now I was walking very fast whensomething, that I can only call a force, stopped me. I mean it waspowerful enough to stop me. Then I started ahead very gingerly tosee what in the world had happened— and there was a barbed wirestretched across the lane.They were repairing the cattle guard at theend of the lane, which I did not know, and had stretched this wireacross to keep the cattle from straying. I would have run into the wireif I had not been stopped.We have much more protection than werealize.
The most significant thing of this kind happened when I wasdriving a car. I’ve given up my driver’s license now, but all throughmy driving days I was a good, stable driver, and the car was alwaysunder my control. This time I was driving somebody else’s car overa road that was not finished yet. Coming down an incline, there wasa traffic light at the end of the road where you had to turn either oneway or the other. Cars were turning both ways, and turning up on tothe road past me. I naturally put my foot on the brake when I saw thelight was red, but I had no brakes! I grabbed for the emergency. I hadno emergency. I thought if I could put the car into reverse it wouldstop, although this would tear it to pieces. I attempted to get it intoreverse but it wouldn’t go. Ahead of me I saw a station wagon withtwo little children looking out of the back window. I had to stop thecar! I couldn’t turn to the left—there was a rock wall there—andcars were coming up thick and fast.There was a rock wall to the rightwith a ditch, and my little finite mind said, “Take to the ditch, sideswipethe rock wall. It’ll stop the car. It’ll tear it up, but it will stopit.” I was not able to do that. This was the only time in my life when acar was taken out of my control. The car turned to the left, wentbetween two cars, and went up a little dirt road on an incline, whichof course stopped the car. I didn’t know the dirt road was there. Icouldn’t possibly see it.
So you see, I’ve had such amazing things happen to me.You canunderstand why I feel full of absolute protection. That protectionextends even to any group that I am with.