Angels at Our Car Fire
Yesterday was the beginning of what we hoped would be a relaxing one-week vacation in Maine. On the drive up, I commented to my husband, Gary, that I felt blessed, as if there was a Divine presence with us on the trip. I would soon learn that was so true. We had many angels with us (in human form) in the hours to come. Here’s what happened…
Several days ago, Gary, noticed our car was starting a bit rough and brought it in to our mechanic to check it out. It turned out to be the starter motor. It was replaced, declared good to go, and we were set for the trip.
We decided to stop in Kittery, Maine at the local Starbucks for my favorite iced soy latte before we got to our rental cottage just a few miles away. Gary was in the car perusing some maps and I went in to place the order.
As I was standing in line, a woman (Angel #1) rushed in and yelled “There’s a car on fire in the parking lot! Does anyone have an extinguisher?!” Little did I know, it was our car and that our vacation plans were about to get seriously altered.
When I came out, I saw Gary opening the hood of our car. He was instantly enveloped in smoke. Flames were shooting up over his head. It flashed through my mind that we were incredibly blessed that this hadn’t happened even fifteen minutes earlier while we were still on the highway in extremely heavy traffic.
The next few moments were a blur. The manager of Starbucks (Angel #2) rushed out, fire extinguisher in hand, and began spraying the engine with foam.
Meanwhile, Gary somehow located – amidst the tons of vacation stuff – the exact tool he needed to disconnect the battery, which was feeding what he had intuited was an electrical fire. (I have to confess I wouldn’t have known to do that.)
A woman (Angel #3) in a minivan full of kids, yelled out to us, “I called the fire department for you. They’ll be with you shortly. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Two fire trucks, sirens screeching, showed up just moments later. The volunteer firefighters in Kittery, Maine are absolutely wonderful men. (Angels #4-8) They helped Gary put out the smoldering remains on the car engine. One of the men also happened to be a mechanic. (Angel #9) He quickly diagnosed the problem as a mis-wired starter motor.
They all recommended the “best mechanic in town” (Angel #10) at the local Mobil station. Randy, (Angel #11) from AAA, answered my call to come haul our car. He stayed with us at the Mobil station to make sure we could get a rental car.
Ayden, (Angel #12) the manager at the Mobil station, was incredibly kind and helpful, trying to find a car rental place that was open on a late Saturday afternoon. Alas, we discovered that the nearest rental was an hour away at an airport in Manchester, New Hampshire.
We were a bit daunted at the prospect of a one-hour taxi ride. But no other option presented itself. That was when Randy took Gary aside and offered to drive us there after his shift ended. Did I tell you Randy was an angel?
He got us to the Budget Rental car place at the airport, even escorting us to the counter to make sure we got there okay. A short time later, we drove away in a new Ford Escape and were back on the road to Maine.
After transferring our belongings from our burned-out car to the new one, we drove up the road to our rental cottage. It was now 10:00 at night and we were exhausted, sweaty and hungry. We realized we hadn’t eaten since lunchtime.
As we entered our cottage, we saw a basket of wine, cheese and crackers that Kathleen, (Angel #13) the owner of the cottage, had left for us upon hearing of our travails. We gratefully ate, imbibed, showered, then fell into bed, exhausted.
We awoke to a beautiful, sunny Maine morning. Ahh… life is good.
All is well and all will be well.
Oh, and did I mention that there was an air show going on at the local Air Force base? At the very moment the fire was being extinguished, the Blue Angels http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/ flew in formation directly over us. The whole world seemed to shake from their thunder, and when they were gone, so was the fire.
As I’m typing this, a song just came on the radio, “Angels Who Watch Over Me.” Honest to God…
I feel so blessed… Thank you God.
I would like to express my hearty sympathy with you.
I am glad to hear that you are safe.
Please enjoy your vacation.
LYnn,
I am so relieved that you are okay. What an amazing story with one angel after another. You put out such positive energy in the world–it’s no wonder that you get it back. You are an inspiration to us all. One question–is the car dead or can it be reincarnated? Have a glorious week in Maine. I’m sure the angels will be with you!
Love Gail
What a beautiful story….apart from your challenges, of course. Made me feel a little teary, because it reminded me that despite the selfishness around, there really are many beautiful angels around too. Thanks for sharing this Lynn. Many Blessings to you and have a fabulous holiday!
Sure glad to hear you and yours are safe and sound. Thank you for your faith-building article. It’s good to have a reminder that angels are among us.
Blessings to you,
Kcat
Thanks for all your kind responses both here and on Facebook. Miraculously, the car is okay. The starter was replaced, the engine cleaned up and all appears to be as good as new. We’re enjoying our final two days in Maine happy to be here and taking a much needed rest after our fire adventure.
Angels, indeed (especially love the song-on-the-radio affirmation!) Thanks for sharing, Lynn, and happy travels into the fall months ahead—
I once locked my keys in the trunk of my car by accident. After 2 hours of trying to get them out, I prayed to God to please send one of his angels to help me. I was desperate. I was also on vacation and it was a rental car. Within 5 minutes a man drove up and saw we were trying to get into the car. He asked if we needed help. He said he was a car reposessor and pulled out a ring of about 100 keys. I was in my car within 5 minutes. Now tell me that was not devine intervention……..
I am so glad that you and Gary are okay. What an amazing and inspiring story. Thank you for sharing it. So many people would have let that ruin their vacation — worrying about getting the car fixed, anger at the original mechanic, etc. You, instead, saw the silver lining (so many amazing angels surrounding you) and let it all work out. I hope your vacation was wonderful. You deserve it!
Lynn, This made me cry at how special all the angels in human form were there for you. You were truly blessed that day!
Amazing! And thankfully Gary is OK. The adventure continues.
What a great reminder that the people we know and don’t are quick to respond to the needs in the moment. Glad the car is fine and that you and Gary mananged the day with grace. He’s a keeper and so are you. Do remind yourself, only if needed, that you are an angel too, just by being who you are.
Namaste,
Stephen Breen
What makes this story so great is that you chose to see angels everywhere. By seeing people as “angels” you experienced comfort and aid, whereas others might have only seen fear and inconvenience. When we SEE the change we want to BE in the world (to paraphrase Gandhi), we start to recognize the magnificence that is already always there.
Knowing that all is OK, I’m chuckling at your story. Thank you for sharing it. Perhaps the person who wired it wrong is also an angel that triggered this gift. A good story to remind me to look for the angels everywhere I go. I like to think that all those angels went home that night feeling alive and grateful for the chance to make a difference.
Hi Lynn,
So sorry to hear of your car adventure. Happy to know that you and Gary are safe and hopefully able to enjoy the vacation. Lovely to hear about all the wonderful angels surrounding you.
Love, Joy, Healing and Peace,
Susan
Oh Lynn! I have read and loved your newsletters for years and am so grateful that you shared your story! Angels write through me and work through me with my clients. They are saying thank YOU for noticing, for documenting, for widely sharing, for all the steps both of you took in listening to your intuition and being available for miracles, for your appreciation which is to them like oxygen is to us! You are greatly treasured!
So glad you and your husband were blessed by so many wonderful “angels” ad that you were able to enjoy your vacation after enduring a hairy situation!
Lynn, I just read your story and you indeed had Angels cushioning the blow. They were with you all the way, every step of the way. Thank goodness you and Gary are fine and only the car was lost. What a story !!
Miss you xoxo
Dear Lynn,
Very inspiring and touching.At the moment when i am typing i had suffered a big loss of finance hope some angel will rescue me.May God and Angels Bless you.
S.Ravi
Hi Lynn, what an incredible story! What a relief to know you are both OK! I was so inspired by the many angels in your story as well … including the Blue Angels (#14-#18?!), AND the song to top it all off. Yes, clearly you are very blessed. It is also a poignant reminder that any one of us can be an Angel in someone else’s life at any time … whether we are a mom in a minivan, a store manager, a tow truck operator or the owner of a vacation cottage. Thank you for sharing this important reminder. My best to you as always, Kelly.
Though many may not believe, I do belive Miracles ! As per Indian philosophy ,the miracle occured due to your good “karma”i.e.you did good to others, so you got good results !BRAVO !
Hey brilliant, this has been a brilliant help to me, I have had some really serious trouble in my private life recently and it is funny how certain things can really pick you back up or make you look differently on the rubbish stuff and get working on the other things in life. Anyway thank you.