A Snow Globe Experience

By Nancy Leeder

Many years ago, I was in college and working full time in a hospital a twelve-hour night shift as a
CNA/PCT (certified nursing assistant/patient care technician). It was a very chaotic time in my life, and
looking back, it amazes me how I would have managed without God. When things in my life seemed
impossible, I would chat with God, asking how I could complete my homework and work all night. Those
conversations were crucial to my success in college and my work. I always had enough downtime to
finish my reading assignments and homework.

One day, I was late getting home to change into my uniform and get to the hospital. I lived in rural
Arizona then and had to drive slowly because the dirt roads had ruts from flooding during the monsoon
season. I always had to watch out for the neighbor’s cat because he loved sunning himself in the middle
of the dirt road. This day, because I was running late, I was driving faster than I should have, and I saw
the cat in the middle of the road and knew I had to slow down, or I would hit the cat. I applied my
brakes to slow down, but on the dirt road, my tires were kicking up dust and hitting deep ruts in the
road.

At one point, I thought I had the car under control and was thanking God when I hit a deep rut, causing
me to fishtail from one side of the road to the other. There was no stopping the car, and I knew I was in
an accident. I began to pray to God that I knew I was in the accident. Please don’t let anyone else
become involved in the accident. A second later, the tire hit a hole in the road, where someone must
have gotten stuck. That caused my car to flip on the passenger side door as I slid down the road.

The car finally stopped about ten feet from the cat, and I was relieved I hadn’t killed the cat. I was
hanging by my seatbelt and noticed white flakes falling inside the car, and I started laughing as I
thought, this is what it is like to be in a snow globe. The day before, I went to the laundromat because
my washer was broken, and the powdered detergent was on the floor in the back seat.

I then began to worry about getting to work on time. I said, “Dear God, how will I get out of the car?”
Suddenly, my car flipped onto all four tires as if a large hand sat it down on its wheels. I knew God was
present and thanked God for not having anyone else involved in the accident and that I was safe.

As I got out of the car, I noticed someone had already run over the cat, and he was dead. I had to walk a
half mile back to the house to call the hospital to say I would be late and needed to stop in the ER to get
checked out. In those days, we didn’t have cell phones.

The lesson I learned that day, no matter how impossible things seem, God is always there to help when
you least expect it.