Beautiful Day

from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Mothers

By Karen Krokroskia as told to Angela N. Abbott

"My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."
~Daniel 6:22

I looked out the window to see a fluffy blanket of snow covering our neighborhood and icicles crowning each house. Despite the freezing temperatures, the bright sun lit up the winter sky. With my morning coffee in hand, I thanked God for protecting my family. I continued my daily meditation, knowing that it was going to be a beautiful day.

My ten-year-old son, Sean, was quite excited about the morning as well. He sat eagerly in front of the television set waiting to see the name of his school listed at the bottom of the screen, hoping for a snow day. When his school finally appeared, his excitement matched that of scoring the winning touchdown during the Super Bowl. There aren't too many things more exciting to a kid than a snow day. The next thing I knew, the phone was ringing, and Sean was making plans with his friends to play in the snow.

I had to laugh when I watched the boys walk out of the house in their winter gear. With two sweatshirts and a turtleneck, long underwear, pants, layers of socks and snow boots all under a heavy coat, Sean waddled away from the house like a seal.
What I didn't know was that the boys would soon be in danger. Despite their better judgment, they ended up at the pond. They decided to see if it was frozen enough for them to ride their bikes across, so Sean started walking on it to check it out. Slowly but surely, he inched out until he was rather far. Without warning, he fell completely through the ice.

Freezing cold and weighed down by all of his winter clothes, he attempted to tread water and keep his head afloat. But he could not get out alone, and his friends were unable to help him. Sean had only one thing left to do: he prayed. Suddenly, he felt a hand guide him as he was pushed up and out of the icy water and back to safety. The Lord was watching over him and sent His angels to rescue him.


Several weeks later, I learned the story of Sean's "close call" from his Sunday school teacher. Like most kids, even though this story has a happy ending, he was sure he would be in big trouble at home for playing at the pond. I wondered how many other times the Lord has stepped in to rescue our children that we haven't found out about.

As I begin my mornings with the Lord, I have a newfound gratitude for the very real way in which God protects his children. With my trust in the Lord, I know that every day is truly going to be a beautiful day.

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