Chapter One
A Car, A Bus Or A Ditch?
Sliding Home,,, Almost
On The Edge Of Disaster
The Two Wheel Scrape
Other Areas In The JTMI Web Site
JTMi Home Page
Angels Encamped About Me, Too!
Testimonies Of God At Work
Chapter Two - "Bumper Cars"
Chapter Three - "Behind A Badge, But Under The
Blood"
Chapter Four - "God Does A Body God"
Chapter Five - "Other Sundry But Wonderful Things"
Chapter Six - "Weather or Not"
Chapter Seven - "Whooooo Acts Like A Devil"
Calender of Events
Copyright 1995 (Come On Now, Angels Aren't Really Encamped About
Me, Are They?)
- First Printing 1995
Second Printing 1996
Copyright 1998 (Angels Encamped About Me, Too!) The Revision
I had, as a teen in 1968, owned and ridden a 1966 Jawa 175cc motorcycle
(off road) for about two years. I found that it was very exciting
and enjoyed myself tremendously. When I had just reached the age of
twenty-nine, I got a case of motorcycle fever and decided to buy another
one. I wonder sometimes if this was, perhaps, to retain my youthfulness,
if this is possible.
Shortly after buying a 1974 Suzuki 250 enduro motorcycle, I found myself
in the following situation:
As I was driving home from work one evening, in the early fall of 1979,
I was driving behind a school bus. This can at times, become annoying
if you are behind it for any amount of time. This day I was. I was quite
familiar with the road and I knew there was a long, straight stretch
of road just ahead. I stopped behind the bus along the center line so I
could see intot he oncoming lane of the highway. There were no cars there.
'When the bus leaves this stop,' I thought, 'I can safely pass it.'
After a few moments the bus starts to move forward. I noticed the red
flashing lights stop blinking. As I pulled out, I again looked down the
other side of the two lane highway.
There were no cars in sight. I moved to the left lane and began passing
the bus. As I was about half-way around, I realized the bus was slowing
down a little. I eased up on the throttle but continued on. Suddenly, from
a driveway on the right, a car crossed the highway in front of the bus
and me.
Since the car was turning toward me, into the lane I was in, I had no
place to go. There was an embankment on the left, so I had to go right.
The bus was now nearly stopped but still moving. I knew that if would
apply the brakes, I would hit the car at the driver's door.
Quickly, I swerved to the right directly in front of the bus andthen
left behind the car, narrowly missing the drainage ditch on the right.
As I drove on, I could hardly believe what had just happened. I was only
inches from the two vehicles and the shoulder of the road. I realized that
I was miraculously still alive. I knew that God's divine protection was
indeed over me.
Another time, in 1980, I was traveling to work. The roads were still wet
from the shower we had at dawn. I had just left the city streets and
started out of town on one of the county's many back roads.
While approaching a one lane bridge, I was following a car down a grade.
From the other direction, there also, was a vehicle approaching the bridge.
Considering the wet roads, I suppose that I may have been traveling a
little too close to the car in front of me at the time it slowed down to
allow the oncoming vehicle to cross the bridge.
As the car was slowing, I applied my brakes and the front wheel slid out
from under me. The bike turned sideways and at the same time leaned back
toward the hill away from the car. I was almost laying on the road. All
I could think of was, "Jesus!"
All at once, the bike caught trackion on the road and stood up on both
wheels just as it should have been all along. I stopped not more than
five feet behind the car.
I was to realize that this was not normal. The road was just as wet there
as anywhere else. When a motorcycle goes down, it doesn't just get back up
like that. I was going fast enough to shove both the bike and me under the
rear of that car.
God picked up the motorcycle and stopped it in time. May the Praise,
Glory, and Honor be to God.
Many times I was invided to minister in music at various churches around the area. In
one particular instance in 1980, I was traveling on the Intersate Highway
to a church in Cumberland Maryland to minister in song. Since I sometimes use accompaniment
tapes, I would carry my tape deck with me because some churches didn't
have them. I had my deck strapped to the back of my motorcycle with heavy rubber straps.
I was joyous in that I had been putting forth much prayer for four teens who attended this church.
I would be able to see how my prayers were working and would be ministering to them if they were there.
While I was traveling down I-70, traffic was normal and the trip was going nicely.
As I left I-70, to get on I-64 (now I-68), I noticed a car approaching from behind me.
We were on a pretty sharp left curve, considering this was an Interstate Highway.
As the car got close behind me, it moved to the left lane to pass. As it came
along side me, I was into the curve. This is when I noticed the car doing some weaving.
I instinctively moved as close to the shoulder as I could without leaving the roadway.
Then to my horror, while I was beside his rear door, he swerved toward me narrpwly missing me by only a few inches before swerving away from me.
At 55 mph, that can be a pretty hair raising experience; and considering I don't have much, it could have been a blessing.
Being so close to the edge of the roadway I had noplace to go. My front
wheel caught the edge of the macadam, which dropped of about four inches
into the gravel shoulder. This pulled me prerilously onto the highway with
such force that the handlebars jerked dangerously back and forth. I could
barely hold on to them. It was like I had my own personal little earthquake
on two wheels.
I cried out, "Jesus, help me!"
Immediately, I was able to gain full control of the motorcycle and I thought all was well when another car came beside me and blew its horn at me.
I saw the passengers motioning to something behind me. I looked into my
mirrors and there in the middle of the road was something that I didn't
remember passing. I looked quickly around where my tape deck was strapped.
And I stress was. Then I realized that on the road behind me lay
the crumpled remains of my tape deck.
I turned around as soon as possible and rode back where I found laying on
the road, my tape recorder, broken into pieces.
Apparently, the brutal vibrations the bike and I had undergone was so severe
that the deck was jarred loose. The straps were hanging precariously from
the bike. The steel hooks on the ends could have possibly caught in the
wheel or drive chain and caused another serious problem.
I decided to pick up the pieces along with my music which was scattered
over the road and blowing farther away.
While dodging cars and trucks, I gathered up all the fragments and chased
down my sheet music.
I felt that somehow, God was going to bless my ministry even if I had to
sing with no music, so I continued on my way.
When I arrived at the home of my brother Allen, who lived in Cumberland,
I attempted to piece the tape deck together to see if by any chance it
might be of some use. It didn't look like much as I carefully reassembled
its cracked and broken case.
Again, I knew that God had intervened, because He not only kept me safe,
but when I turned on the tape recorder, though it looked like junk, it
worked perfectly. Allen and I spent a time of rejoicing over this.
I did ask myself, "Why would God allow this?" I found the answer to that
question, too.
During the service, I testified about my trip and what had happened, sang
my several songs, which the Lord impressed on me to sing. There was clearly a
an anointing there.
I realized how God had pulled everything together for His good and perfect
will.
As I sat down, and the church was deeply worshipping the Lord, Allen, who
was conducting the service, felt led to give an alter call. Yes, right there
in the middle of the service. It was definitely in God's timing and order.
Allen odeyed the Lord completely instead of waiting till the end of the service
as would be the norm for this. When the alter call was given, the very four
teens for whom I had been praying, went to the alter and prayed the sinner's
prayer.
Out of forty people who were in the church building that evening, four had
received salvation. That's ten percent which is pretty good. There were
four more sould that had been claimed for God and torn from the grasp of
**satan and his demons.
Praise be to the Living God! He knows what He is doing. These are four
reasons why He kept me protected. These are four reasons why my tape deck
worked when, in all reason, it should have been thrown into the trash
unable to work.
It was four teenagers for whom the Spirit was to call that night in answer
to not only my prayers, but those of others, also. It was for the greatest
miracle ever; the salvation of souls.
In 1980, I decided to get a larger motorcycle which may or may not have
been such a wise decision. bought a 1979 Yamaha 650 Special. Needless to
say, if you are familiar with bikes, I outgrew that one in less than two
years. In 1983, I treded the 650 in for the 1981 Yamaha 850 Special which
I still own today.
It was beautiful. Its color was red/black meaning that it was black with
red mettallic chips through it. It had saddle bags, trunk and windshield.
It was much better for traveling on the open highway because of its weight.
As I was riding it through the small city of Hagerstown, Maryland on
February 2, 1988, I had another miraculous situation.
In this town, there are many one way streets. On this particular day, I was
driving on one. The day was cool and brisk, and the
warm sun was shining. It was an absolutely beautiful day that God had
given us.
I was very tempted to remove my helmet since the laws in Maryland did not
require them. I could soak up this lovely day, as I had many times before.
But, something came over me. I must wear my helmet. I was not sure
at the time why the Lord was impressing me with this, but I was obedient
to what I felt He wanted.
I was driving south in the left lane on Mulberry Street
(it was one way) and approaching Baltimore Street. In the right
lane there was a car stopped at the traffic light up ahead. I was slowing
down for the red light, but I knew that in a moment the light would change
to green, because the lights downtown were all synchronized and you would
know when they would change.
Just as I was about fifty feet behind the car, the light turned green. The
vehicle in the right lane began to pull out. Of course, I started
increasing my speed a little.
Suddenly, as I began to pass the car, the driver turned to the left into
my path. Everything began to happen in slow motion as is the usual in
traumatic situations like this.
Since everything was in slow motion, I looked into the driver's window.
There at the wheel was a lady looking at me with horror in here eyes.
I wondered, "Now where is she going. Guess I'd better get out of her way."
As I began to veer out of her way, I collided into the side of her car,
just in front of her driver's door. My right leg caught between the
motorcycle's gas tank and the car when inertia slammed the bike against
the car.
My bike immediately was thrown to the street where I slid about
twenty-five feet with my left leg between the motorcycle gas tank and the
surface of the road.
The bike stopped there, and I alone continued without the bike, or my
sanity, for another ten to fifteen feet on my felt side and back side,,,,
Ouch!?!
When I finally came to rest, I tried to get up. One witness actually tried
to put me back down on the pavement. He, as well as the others, didn't
want me to move saying, "Stay there, you might be hurt. Don't get up, just
lay there. Don't move." I told them that I had to get up to get my bike
upright because the gasoline was leaking out. They said I was not to do
it; they would.
First off, the only hurts I had was to my wits, and possibly the seat of
my pants. I was a little nervous about standing only because I wasn't sure
how much fabric was remaining between me and the public.
As embarrassing as it might have been, I got up and helped the others lift
the motorcycle, and push it off the road and onto ots kick-stand.
I could very easily have been thrown into the traffic on Baltimore Street,
but God protected me from that. The police officer said that almost all
motorcycle accidents of that type result in the biker having one or both
legs broken, crushed and/or burned. Not only did I not reveive any of
those injuries, I didn't get as much as a scratch, bruise or hurt
feelings, and I still had all my fabric on the seat of my pants.
In fact, I did what I could to help calm down the poor, nearly hysterical
lady. I felt sorry for her. She sat in the police cruiser crying. Nothing
the officer said seemed to help her.
I told her that when she gets to thinking about my motorcycle and me, and
feeling downhearted about this unfortunate situation, just think of how
funny it must have looked to her as she watched me bouncing down the
street on my backside. The officer chuchled and the lady laughed and
calmed down considerably. I recall her chuckling several times afterwards.
I wonder,,, did it really look that funny?
God does care about everything in our lives and offers His protection at
times we need it. His hand was definitely upon me in this.
Chapter Two - Bumper Cars
The Lord's Protection In Traveling
Email: Jots 'n' Tittles Ministries
