Divine protection over a foggy highway

Lessons from Everyday Life By Theodore Lewis

Bridgman, MI—My friend TJ and I recently traveled to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in two separate vehicles. TJ, a successful sales consultant at Signature Toyota/Hyundai in Benton Harbor, MI, had sold a car to a customer in the Upper Peninsula and had agreed to deliver it. He needed someone to travel with him to facilitate his return after the delivery. I agreed to help.

On our way northbound, within 50 miles of reaching the Mackinaw Bridge, we encountered a fast-moving snow squall that quickly dropped 8 inches of snow in a short time. Because of the storm, the bridge closed just before we arrived. We had no choice but to wait two hours in Mackinaw City until it reopened.

After the delay, we were able to cross the bridge and head west toward the delivery point near Manistique. After TJ delivered the new vehicle, I picked him up and we began the long journey back to Southwest Michigan. Traveling eastbound on Route 2, I was astounded by the amount of snow drift on each side of the road, which appeared to be at least 20 feet tall.

As we crossed over the Mackinaw Bridge, the sun had just set and the roadway was eerily quiet. That quick-moving winter storm had passed through the Straits, but now the roads had been plowed. We were able to travel safely and hassle-free across the bridge.

This was the first time I had been to Mackinaw and the Upper Peninsula in more than 40 years. Passing over the Mighty Mac brought back many memories for me, including one from 1973. I vividly recall traveling northbound on I-75, approaching the bridge. I was driving the Baby Blue Bookmobile for the Michigan Book & Bible House, run by the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. This vehicle was a motor home that had been converted into a blue-painted bookmobile. I was driving it toward Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula to conduct a book sale for church members.

Just before crossing the Mackinaw Bridge, I decided to get off at the very last exit to take a restroom break. As I pulled off on the exit ramp, I tried to apply the brakes, but they failed. I had no choice but to run through a red light. I was able to coast into a gas station, where the crew fixed the brakes for me.

The distinct memory of my luck on that occasion brought back the thought I’ve always had: that my guardian angel had directed the path of the bookmobile on that difficult occasion. This prompted me to say a silent prayer as TJ was driving across the bridge. I prayed for a safe, uneventful journey through the 300+ miles remaining on our trip back to Berrien County in Southwest Michigan.

As we traveled south, the temperature began to warm. By the time we passed Gaylord, it was above the freezing mark of 32. Soon the temperature approached 40 and we could safely travel at the posted speed limit of 75 mph.

Unreasonably warm air, along with rain, had been moving through the lower peninsula. The warm air, combined with a still-frozen, snow-covered ground, created considerable fog.

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After entering US Hwy 131 near Cadillac, our southbound journey brought even warmer temperatures. Even though it was around 9 p.m., I noticed our 2025 AWD Hybrid Camry's outside temperature gauge had risen to 42. As we passed State Route 10 on US 131, the fog intensified. This stretch of highway is interstate-grade, with two lanes in each direction, separated by a median. All entrances and exits along that stretch of US 131 are similar to those on interstate highways, designed for safety. 

The heavy fog significantly obscured the headlights of cars traveling in the opposite direction. TJ had been driving since the Straits of Mackinaw and we agreed to switch drivers as we got closer to Grand Rapids.

As I was nodding off a bit to catch a few shut eyes before my turn at the wheel, I could see that we were approaching a truck traveling in our right lane a couple of hundred feet in front of us.

The truck was probably doing about 65 to 70 mph. So once we got within 50 feet or so of it, TJ put his left blinker on to position us in the left passing lane on our side of the divided highway so we could pass the slower-moving semi.

Suddenly, a car flashed by going in the wrong direction, traveling in the passing lane we were just starting to turn into. It happened so fast that both TJ and I were totally shocked.

"Aren't we on a divided highway?" I asked.

"I thought so," TJ replied.

I called 911 to report a car traveling at high speed going north in the southbound lanes. The 911 operator told me I was the fourth to report this wayward vehicle and they had troopers on the way to locate this car.

Due to the dense fog and the truck directly ahead of us, neither of us noticed the approaching vehicle. If there had been just a one or two-second difference, we would have moved into that lane to pass, resulting in a high-speed head-on collision.

Not long after this, TJ pulled over and asked me to drive the rest of the way home. Undoubtedly, he was shaking inside as we both pondered what would have happened if his turn into the passing lane had been a second or two earlier.

As we passed through Grand Rapids and headed south on I-196, I looked over at TJ and could see he was sound asleep.

I'm thankful that evening there was an angel on US-131.

Theodore Lewis is the former CEO of Guam Memorial Hospital and has a healthcare consulting business in Bridgman, MI. He is collecting stories about lessons learned in life and can be reached at theodorelewis@yahoo.com.

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