---MYSTERIOUS WAYS~~
--[MORE THAN COINCIDENCE~]

---IT WAS A BRIGHT, sunny Saturday. My daughter Alexis would likely go off on one of her miles-long bike rides. I was so proud of Alexis and her health-conscious lifestyle. She'd been 75 pounds overweight as a teen but had taken up biking and hiking while in College.

Now 27, she was happy, fit and active. I was glad that she'd found ways to stay healthy, but I worried about her. The extensive biking trails in Portland went through some sketchy parts of town, and she was living on her own.

I went about my day, doing some weekend chores. Alexis was still on my mind, so at one point, I felt compelled to say a sincere prayer: "God, please keep my daughter safe. Keep Your angels around her, dear Lord."

A few hours later, I got a call from Alexis. "Mom, I've got to tell you what happened!" she said and launched into quite a story.

Sure enough, she'd been exploring a bike path with a friend. They did a big loop that ended just across the street from Alexis's apartment. The road they had to cross was very busy--it served as the entrance and exit to one of Portland's transit centers, where buses, trains and cars converge to pick up and drop off passengers.

Alexis was tired and in a hurry to get home. At the crosswalk, she didn't see or hear any cars coming, so she proceeded across the street. Her friend, who had been behind her, stayed at the curb.

Suddenly, Alexis heard a loud HONKKK! She jerked her bike to the left. A car whizzed by so close, it grazed her forearm, giving her a brush burn. The woman driving skidded to a stop, horrified!

Alexis knew she wasn't badly injured and saw that other cars were rapidly approaching, so she waved the driver on and quickly made her way to the other side. She waited there for her friend.

Once the rest of the traffic had passed, Alexis's friend crossed the street to join her. "I'm so glad that car honked its horn at the last second," Alexis said. "Otherwise, I might not be alive right now!"

Her friend looked at her, confused. "What horn? I was right there, and I didn't hear a thing. There was no loud horn."

I thought about the prayer I'd said earlier that day. Suddenly, it made a lot more sense. "Thank You, Lord, for hearing and answering my prayer."

--Myrna Rudolph
-PORTLAND, OREGON~
---GUIDEPOSTS~
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