Two things are always in short supply when you are a college student: sleep and money with which to go home. Margarete was away at college, a hardworking, diligent college sophomore. The Christmas holidays were soon approaching, which meant a trip home was almost in sight. But as always, college professors haven’t much heart and usually schedule tests during the last three or four days preceding vacation, so sleep was hard to come by.
Grandma Hendley had sent the funds for Margarete’s long bus ride home. As soon as the last class was over, Margarete made her way to the bus depot loaded down with packages and a few presents. She quickly purchased her ticket and boarded the bus.
She was thankful that her first choice in seats was available–the very last seat next to the back door–where she could stretch out and sleep without interruption all the way to her destination of Mankato, Minnesota. Stretching out with no one to bother her with questions or break into her sleep felt like such a luxury.
The only sounds that filled the bus were the quiet murmurs of other passengers and the steady hum of the tires on the highway. Such were the comforting, soothing sounds that lulled a tired college sophomore to sleep. As she slept, the motion of the bus and her tossing pushed her shoulders against the back door.
Suddenly, without warning, the back emergency exit door swung open with Margarete wedged against it! Her head and shoulders hung out the open door–awakening her instantly–and she felt herself falling into the blackness of the night toward the hard concrete of the highway.
Her first thought was, I’m going to die! She frantically grabbed for the door frame to catch herself but missed! She prayed the most fervent prayer of her short life in just three words: “Jesus, help me!” And to this day, she says she can almost still feel it: a pair of huge hands caught her and pushed her back into the bus.
She quickly looked around, but no one was sitting near enough to her to have touched her. When the warning light of the open door flashed red, the driver brought the bus to a quick stop and came running down the aisle. Stopping short, he took in the sight of Margarete sitting next to the open door and leaned down to ask her, “Are you all right?
I can’t understand how it happened. Did you lose anything? Are you afraid? Did you get hurt?”
As you can imagine, he was more than a bit upset with the problem. Still in a sort of shock, Margarete answered, “No sir, no problems.” “Well, then, how did you manage to hold on and not fall out?” She replied, “I believe I had some heavenly help.”
