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.

Joseph J. Mazzella joecool@wirefire.com