One weekend last month, I was on my way back to Manila, driving in NLEX a little over 100kph (but still within the grace speed limit which is said to be 120kph). I was in the middle of praying the rosary when out of nowhere, there was a small bird right in front of my car about to crash into my windshield! At a speed beyond 100kph, everything should have been a blur. Instinctively, I could have swerved or pressed on the brakes, but for whatever reason, I didn’t do any of it. I just drove steadily. Remember that Angelina Jolie movie entitled “Wanted” when your senses get heightened and you see everything in slow motion? That’s what happened to me as I approached the bird. I clearly saw panic in the bird’s eyes as it tried to fly higher to avoid me and I just closed mine just before the bird crashed into my windshield. It was a loud thud but fortunately my windshield didn’t break.
After another half hour of driving, now in the Bulacan area, out of my peripheral vision, I saw a 4x4 (it looked like a Land Cruiser) from the opposite lane suddenly crash into the highway divider. I almost swerved because if the divider were low or if it were not made of concrete, the 4x4 would have crashed directly at my side! The impact against the concrete was so strong that the 4x4 bounced back to the middle of the northbound lane.
I was totally shaken after that. I thought about the driver and the passengers of the 4x4 hoping that they were all safe. And I thought about what could have been had I not been alert. I kept on thinking that maybe, the bird incident had to happen earlier, otherwise, I probably would not have been that alert when the 4x4 incident happened.
I felt bad that I accidentally killed a bird that day but I’m thankful that I didn’t hurt myself or other people, had I swerved instead. I attribute these miracles to the power of prayer. And it doesn’t have to be a long prayer like the rosary. Any prayer will be heard. :)
Photo credit: delsjourney.com
Photo credit: delsjourney.com