City Slide Walks and My Guardian Angel

When you live with the fear that one icy morning while crossing the bridge on your walk to work, you’ll get nailed by a sliding car and go flying over the railing and down to the tracks below—but you walk to work anyway—is that courage or stupidity?

It’s been that kind of week. And it prompted me to rewrite Silver Bells. Go ahead, sing along. You know you wanna.

City sidewalks, slippery slide walks

Iced in holiday style

On the streets there’s a feeling of danger.

Children sliding, people gliding

Meeting pavement and stone

And on every street corner you fear…

Chorus:

Slippery falls, slippery falls

It’s winter time in the city

Ouchy ouch

I’m a grouch

Soon I’ll be needing a cane.

Horns a-honking, cars a-skidding

Through lights bright red and green

As the shoppers slide home with their treasures

Feel the sleet punch, hear your bones crunch

For these hazards you’ll pay      

And above all these death-traps you fear…

(Repeat chorus if you dare)

I never did fall, thanks in part to my husband’s Yaktrax which may be ruining my boots. But at this stage of life, I figure a pair of boots is cheaper than a broken limb. I was surprised by how many people noticed my grippy fashion accessory and commented. What was far less noticeable, but I’m certain as effective, was my guardian angel. When I returned home on Tuesday, the slipperiest day of all, I received an email from Connie Inglis who serves as the spiritual advisor for Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship to which I belong. I’ve never met Connie, but she wrote to tell me she prayed Psalm 91 for me that day.

Of course I looked it up. Among several other promises about how God will keep his children safe from harm, are these words in verses 11 and 12:

“He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.” (The Message)

Good work, guys!