I’ve never been much of a Bible thumper—always kept my relationship with God on a somewhat personal basis. And if you’re a Marx or Nietzsche fan you probably don’t want to read this, but in the past couple weeks, God has poked me several times—not in a bad way, but he has gotten my attention. A firm believer in ‘free-will,’ I adhere to the belief that much of what we experience is not the direct intervention of God but the result of our own choices. He just lays the ground rules of cause and effect.

On the other hand, I do believe on occasion God brings about occurrences in peoples’ lives that are often explained as “amazingly coincidental” …or maybe not. It’s not that these things haven’t happened on rare occasions in the past, but four times since just before the first of the year, I’ve been the recipient of messages from angels.

First this prologue is necessary: After six months of misery from knee replacement surgery last year, I swore to myself the I would not do the same on the other knee, although the doctor said this other knee is as bad or worse. I took arthritis meds, and for several months it seemed to be under control. As the already scheduled date for the second surgery approached, I planned to cancel it.

That’s when God poked me the first time, leaving me with a new level of agony in my knee. I couldn’t walk. A few days later, the surgeon’s office called to confirm, and the scheduled surgery now remains on the calendar. Sure, it might be a lucky coincidence but read on for God-poke number two.

Determined to go deer hunting at least once this season, I drove with a friend to a relatively remote area well before daylight the day after New Years. Far out in the Coldwater River bottoms, I attempted to back my pickup down a steep embankment but got off the gravel and jack-knifed the ATV trailer on the grassy slope. At five o’clock in the morning we were looking at a ruined deer hunt and an expensive towing fee, if we could even get one to come out there. That’s when we spotted headlights coming. Remember, we were in the middle of nowhere!

We were so far below the crest of the levee we didn’t have time to signal, but the driver of a white pickup truck stopped and shouted down at us, asking if we needed help. Producing a tow chain, a young man in his mid-twenties, hooked to us and pulled us out in a couple minutes. When I asked what we could give him, he said nothing. I asked his name.

“Micky,” he said.

He climbed in his truck and drove away. My friend asked, “Where did he come from?”

“God,” I said.

Two days later I went to visit an elderly friend in a nursing home who was having physical therapy for a stroke. I have had extensive physical therapy several times and have had no qualms with my therapists. Most have been very good, but the woman who was working with my friend was exceptional, especially since he asks lots of questions. This young woman patiently answered them all, while working with him. She did so in a way I found unusual in that she talked to him as if they were best friends but in a very professional manner. Head and shoulders above any I’ve ever met, I asked her name before she departed.

“Micky,” she said.

Just yesterday, God poked me a fourth time. I needed to purchase an exercise-cycle to use after the upcoming knee surgery and found one for sale locally. I was on my way to buy it when my cell phone rang. It was another friend who I hadn’t spoken with in six or eight months. It was a “butt-dial” he apologetically explained. We talked and I told him where I was going. He said he had an exercise-cycle he would give me for free. I give you my word, all of this is true.

Now, while on a roll like this one, I got to thinking perhaps I should take my two-hundred dollars and make the hour-long drive down to the casino at Tunica. But when I woke up today there was six inches of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down. Do you know when the last time it snowed six inches in Mississippi? And, no, we don’t have snowplows in Mississippi—and there’s no casino trip in my immediate future. God has such a wonderful sense of humor.

By the way, the next Vietnam Series novel should be out sometime this spring. I’ll let you know when it’s available for pre-buy on Amazon. Meanwhile, here’s the link to my Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rick-DeStefanis/author/B00H2YO2SS

I look forward to your comments. 

Rick