Saint Francis and I have always had a special relationship. As a little girl I learned he watched over all the animals I loved.<\/p>\n
Saint Francis was on my mind driving home one morning from my midnight shift at a retirement home. Highway 231, the hilly two-lane road between Wyandot and Seneca County, curved through fields of corn, soy beans and woods.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d seen it a hundred times, but my breath still caught as I rounded a bend and faced an explosion of fall colors overhead. In summer the rich green trees made a canopy of shade. In winter the snow made a Christmas wonderland. In spring the road came alive with new buds and flowers.<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t the only one who loved this stretch. Squirrels, opossum and raccoons walked this road too. And deer, my favorite. The animals made me love my commute all the more, but I couldn\u2019t bear the idea of one darting out and getting hit. An accident with a deer could be fatal to me as well.<\/p>\n
So each morning and night before I turned onto the highway from Sycamore Street, just after I passed the little wooden bridge over the creek, I said my special prayer: \u201cSaint Francis, please bless and protect all the animals, big and small. Keep them away from the road I travel on today so that I don\u2019t hurt them and they don\u2019t hurt me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019d never had a car accident. But my spotless record was attributed to more than just luck and careful driving. As I crossed the border into Wyandot County, I remembered a day years before. My husband, Brian, and I were driving the highway in my old Geo Metro. \u201cBrian, slow down,\u201d I said. \u201cYou never know what\u2019s going to jump out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going that fast,\u201d he assured me. \u201cI can stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saint Francis<\/em>, I prayed, be extra watchful today.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI thought I\u2019d pick up some coal for the barbecue,\u201d Brian said as he steered around a bend into the woods. The summer road turned shady. \u201cI could get steaks at the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n A herd of deer streaked out from the left side of the road. There was no time to stop. Brian jerked the wheel far to the right. Blood pounded in my ears, but I could hear the thunder of hooves on pavement.<\/p>\n All I could do was wait for the terrible impact I knew was coming\u2026.<\/p>\n But it didn\u2019t come. The deer thundered into the woods behind us. Now the only sound was Brian\u2019s hoarse breathing beside me. We sat on the side of the road, shaking.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat just happened?\u201d Brian asked. His face was white.<\/p>\n \u201cThey jumped over us,\u201d I said. \u201cThey all jumped over the car.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian looked at me sideways. \u201cYou said that goofy prayer, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d I replied. \u201cIt worked.\u201d<\/p>\n It had worked, hadn\u2019t it? <\/em>I thought as I drove past the same spot going in the other direction. What else could have protected Brian and me that day? And what about that second time<\/em>, I reminded myself. That memory was even more clear.<\/p>\n I was rushing into town for a meeting. My mind wasn\u2019t on Saint Francis that night, but I said my prayer by the little bridge out of habit. I should have left earlier<\/em>, I thought, speeding toward Seneca County. If I go the speed limit all the way, I just might make it.<\/em><\/p>\n Instead, my car slowed. I hadn\u2019t touched the brake but the speedometer was dropping fast. I pushed down on the gas. Nothing. \u201cOh, of all the days!\u201d I said. I coasted to a stop on the side of the road, dead. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with this thing?\u201d I smacked the steering wheel with my hand.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when something caught my eye. A fuzzy white glow just to the left of my car. It was about five feet tall, shaped like a person, but it wasn\u2019t a man. And right beside it were five deer standing stock still, just inches from my car. I would have hit them if I hadn\u2019t been stopped.<\/p>\n I pressed the gas pedal again. This time I moved forward. There was nothing wrong with my car. I looked in my rearview mirror. The white glow pulsated as if it were alive, then faded into the darkness. Only then, did the deer cross the road.”<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t hear a single thing anyone said in the meeting,\u201d I told Brian that night. \u201cI kept thinking about that glow. Was it Saint Francis? Was it an angel? Did I actually see a miracle? What was the truth?<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the one who saw it,\u201d said Brian. \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n