I feel deep gratitude for the protection I experienced on a fishing trip. On a winter day, about five o'clock in the afternoon, I asked my friend, a super athlete and inveterate fisherman, to show me the "put and take" section of a certain trout stream. We took two cars and a canoe to the river, parking one car downstream and launching the canoe from the other about two miles upstream. As we paddled down-stream, it began to get dark, and we still hadn't reached the "put and take" section of the river or the second car.
Just as we were nearing the lower car, the canoe hit a tree that had fallen across the river and capsized. The water, which never gets warmer than 60 degrees, was extremely cold. By what seemed a miracle, I still had hold of my paddle when I landed in the water, and this, together with a wading stick that was tied to my belt enabled me to stay upright and stand against the water's strong flow, even though my hip boots were full of water
I listened for God's direction as each challenge presented itself.
