by Kalyse Rose

Lana and Leanne lived in southern California. They were attending school at Loma Linda University. They had a vacation, and what better way to spend it than going home to be with their family and friends. Bryan, a longtime friend, lived in Utah and needed his car driven from Loma Linda to Provo, Utah. It was arranged that the girls would drive it there for him.

They were on their way home in the big red borrowed car. It was a long 11-hour drive. Lana knew she and Leanne would take turns driving. They had made a delicious lunch and had a full tank of gas, so there wasn’t much left to worry about.

They had made this drive many times. It was great to see the miles going by! They knew each landmark and how much further to the next.

smashed red carMeanwhile, at home, the girls’ little sister, Jodie, was thinking about the dream she had had during the night. Knowing that her big sisters were traveling that day, she thought maybe she should tell Dad and Mom about the dream. The dream was about Lana and Leanne. They were driving in a red car, and there was an accident. She remembered the car rolling down an embankment. Both girls were killed. This alarmed their dad, who was impressed that he should start praying earnestly for his daughters’ safety.

Paul Smith, the girls’ father, had come from a very devout family who believed in and had experienced the power of prayer. His father had experienced God’s watching out for them. Many times he had strong impressions or dreams that he knew he must follow.

Back on the freeway, the girls were about 5 hours from home. It was fabulous scenery they were driving through. They were in southern Utah with the red rocks climbing up before them. They had been through the dry, colorless deserts of Nevada and were glad to be seeing some color again.

Utah scenerySoon Lana needed a break from driving, so Leanne said she would take the wheel for a while. They chose to switch seats while the car was on cruise control and still speeding up the road towards home. It was a dangerous trick they had seen others do, and they thought they could do it as well. Amazingly, the switch was made without getting all tangled up!

Afterward, Leanne looked down at all the electronic buttons on the armrest of the door. She was not used to the electronic luxury of the car they were in. As she did, the car started to go off the road. Looking up, she realized they were heading into the median. Again not used to the touchy power steering on this car, she quickly turned the wheel, overcorrecting, causing the car to spin around and to start sliding backwards and sideways down the freeway.

Lana, realizing they were in trouble, leaned forward, clutching the dashboard, and called out, “Oh, Leanne!”

Just before they would have gone crashing through the guardrail and over the embankment, Leanne cried, “Jesus, save us!” At that moment, as the back end of the car scraped the guardrail, the car quit sliding sideways but continued going backwards down the freeway and came to a stop on the side of the road.

The two just sat there stunned! Absorbed in their own thoughts, they contemplated what had just happened. They realized that they had been inches away from what could have been death!

A man in a pickup, who had seen the frightening accident, stopped to see if they were OK. He was amazed at what he had seen. They were thankful there were no other cars on the road.

Not sure what to do next, they tried starting the engine, and the car seemed to purr along. With grateful but still pounding hearts and trembling hands, they continued their journey toward home. With no cell phones then, they didn’t know about Jodie’s dream and Dad’s extra prayers for them that day.

When they arrived safely at home and told their family all the events of the day, they were surprised to find out that Jody had had a dream and that the family had been praying especially for them. The girls were so thankful to be part of a family who believed in prayer!

I know this story is true because Lana is my Mom, and I thank God that He saved her life that day. I want to tell you that prayer is very powerful and that God uses people, young and old alike, to communicate with us. Just because we are young doesn’t mean God can’t use us. So keep your ears open for His voice!