God is constantly showering His children with blessings of all shapes and sizes, one of them being protection from danger. Life is so much more joyful for those who recognize these blessings of God even while something “bad” is happening. Depending on your attitude and your relationship with God, the cup never has to be “half-empty.”

Recently I was introduced to a man who has a saw mill. He cuts, dries, and sells wood that I could use for wood working. He invited me over to show me what he has for sale. When I arrived there were a few other woodworkers already there and we spent several hours looking through hundreds of samples that he had milled and dried. I love working with wood, I found some really nice pieces for bowls and tables and got some great ideas from the other woodworkers. I had a wonderful time and was aware of Prophet’s blue light and presence throughout the day. Late in the afternoon, after I bought a half dozen pieces of wood, I loaded up the truck and headed for home.

I drove about a quarter mile to the main road. At the intersection I put my foot on the brakes to stop my truck and the brake pedal went to the floor! My brakes barely worked and I went through the stop sign, and finally came to a stop three quarters of the way out into the intersection. Although having your brakes fail is a little scary, I felt protected. Through the years Del, the Prophet of God, has shown me that when we have a relationship with the Divine everything that happens in our lives is a gift of love from God. With faith, trust, and patience, in time the Prophet will help us see how everything is a blessing. When, through Grace, we are given the eyes to see, we can then connect the dots and be consciously aware of and grateful for the gifts of God’s Love and teachings in our daily lives. Being grateful opens our hearts and helps us develop an even closer relationship with God. It’s a beautiful circle.

I have been blessed to learn how to witness the Hand of God in my life every day! Here are some of the many ways I saw how God blessed me through this particular experience: As I went through the stop sign and into the intersection, all of the vehicles nearby had plenty of time to see what was going on and avoid running into me. After my truck finally came to a stop, I backed slowly out of the intersection, pulled off the road and looked over the truck to see if I could determine what caused the problem? I did not see anything obvious and had a nudge to slowly drive back to the saw mill, testing my brakes regularly to make sure I could drive and stop safely. When the men at the mill looked over the truck, they spotted that the back brake line was cracked and was leaking brake fluid. One of the people I had met that day was still there and volunteered to give me a ride to an auto repair shop. The mechanic at the shop helped me get a tow truck which just so happened to be available and close by. After we got my truck, the tow truck driver got me back to the repair shop before it closed. The owner of the shop had the parts needed, was able to work on my brakes, and kindly stayed open a little longer in order to fix them, and he still only charged me a very reasonable price. My insurance company covered the tow truck cost. And most importantly, I felt the Prophet’s presence and knew that he was with me the entire time, helping, protecting, and guiding me through the events of the day.

I was also shown that another part of this blessing was the timing of when the truck’s brakes failed and were fixed. Brakes of course do not fail while you’re driving but only when you are stopping, so no matter when they fail it is a potentially dangerous situation. I had an hour and half drive home on a highway through the mountains. If the brakes failed once I was on the highway and when I had to slow or stop on a steep downhill incline at 60-70 miles an hour that could have been disastrous.

Later that week I was planning on going to our cabin. The public road leading to our property and the one that is on our property are rough, steep, gravel roads which traverse approximately eight hundred vertical feet. Many places have steep mountain drop-offs, there are no rails, boulders, or anything to stop a vehicle from going over the side. If my brakes had failed there or previously on the highway, I may not be here to write this thank you letter. Not only does my relationship with the Prophet make my life so much more full and abundant, on this particular day his love, guidance, protection, and presence literally saved my live. Thank you!

Written by Jason Levinson