Watched Over

by Cheryl Merrick

As we sped down the freeway 
in the pelting rain,
my heart filled with gratitude
that we had been watched over.

On Sunday we went for a walk a distance from our home.
On our way home we heard a thumping sound,

then it sounded as if the bottom dropped out of our van.
Since we were just beginning to accelerate after an intersection,
it was easy to control the van and pull off to the side of the road
where we were surprised to find that our front left tire
had large cuts in the side and was completely flat!
I watched as my husband struggled to get the bolts 
holding the spare tire lose
I knew he needed help, 
but also knew I didn’t have the strength to help him.
At that moment, a strong young man walked up
and asked if we needed help.
We said, “Yes!”
He quickly helped my husband get the spare off and replace the flat tire.

A couple of days later, as we peered through the torrent of rain, 
I remembered Sunday afternoon- pleasant and warm-
with only the inconvenience of an hour delay 
since we had a young man to help us.
I wondered if we might have been killed 
if our tire had gone out in this storm,
And knew we had been Watched Over.