Miracles still occur

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I recently had an experience that I consider a miracle.

A few weeks ago, I was driving in the right lane on a three-lane highway early in the morning. There was a truck in front of me, and all of a sudden a long ladder fell off the truck onto the road directly in front of my car.

Luckily, I was driving in the lane next to the breakdown lane. My first instinct was to veer to the right because the ladder was so large that if I went straight, my car would definitely hit it. As I veered right, the ladder snagged on the car and wedged underneath. I pulled over into the breakdown lane.

I immediately called 911. Within probably less than a minute, a state trooper arrived and helped me to move my car a little bit further from the traffic lanes.  He then asked me to move my car a couple inches forward and back to try to release the ladder. When that was not successful, he suggested that we get the car towed.

In the meantime, a second state trooper came by and asked me to move the car backward and roll over the ladder. Even though I was hesitant, I followed his instruction – and the ladder immediately came free. When I thanked the state trooper and told him I was lucky, he replied, “Yes, very lucky. This could have been much worse.”

I then brought my car to my mechanic, who put it up on the lift to see if there was any damage. He found a couple of small nicks in the casing but there was no damage under the car, to the tires or the engine.  This was miraculous. The mechanic said to me, “Your God is really smiling on you today.”

He said that the ladder could have hit my windshield. And what if I were traveling in the left or middle lane with a car next to me and nowhere to move?

For me, the way things played out was a sign that I’m being protected – and I am so very grateful.

But maybe you don’t believe there are modern-day miracles.  Rabbi Mendy Herson explains that they do still occur, in his article, “Do You Believe in Miracles?” posted at Chabad.org.

He writes, “The real question is: How do you view your life? Every life takes twists and turns. Today, some things will go right and some things won’t. Which takes up more space in my eyes? The good or the not-so-good? How do I see my day/life as a whole? ... Once I see my life as a gift, the aggravating bumps take on a different, more manageable, context. They become lessons, exercises in self-betterment, tests of character.”

He continues, “We each have our own special days, our individual ‘splitting of the sea,’ and hopefully turn to G‑d and thank Him for our good fortune.

“In the scope of your life, the ‘Passover miracles’ will probably be few and far between. Most of your life is like today, a ‘regular’ day with nothing ‘special’ to celebrate; unless you have vision and choose to appreciate and celebrate. Then, every day is a holiday…. Time to celebrate!”

PATRICIA RASKIN, owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is an award-winning radio producer, business owner and leader.  She is on the board of directors of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, and is a recipient of the Providence Business News 2020 Leaders and Achievers award. Her “Positive Aging with Patricia Raskin” podcast is available at ripbs.org/positiveaging.