Last Friday, I got stuck in the elevator in my apartment building for 20 long minutes.<\/p>\n
That probably doesn\u2019t sound so terrible. But I started freaking out the second the elevator froze mid-ride somewhere around the 16th<\/sup> floor. Not only was I all alone in a wood-paneled box, but I have a bit of an overactive imagination\u2026which is really just a nice way to say that I\u2019m really, really good at panicking!<\/p>\n I pressed the elevator alarm button. Nothing. I jabbed it. Nothing. I tried a button labeled \u201cCALL CANCEL\u201d next to a friendly illustration of a fireman\u2019s hat. Surely that would alert the five closest fire departments. I pictured a team of firefighters pulling me out on a rope from the top of the elevator. But nothing happened.<\/p>\n Out of options, I called the front desk on my cell phone.<\/p>\n \u201cHi, I\u2019m in the elevator and it\u2019s stuck,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh<\/em>, you\u2019re the one who\u2019s been calling us from the elevator,\u201d the doorman said. \u201cWe\u2019ll get you out, just stay put.\u201d<\/p>\n Stay put? <\/em>Where in the world was I going to go? To the other side of the elevator where there were better views and more natural light?<\/p>\n Five minutes later, the elevator still hadn\u2019t moved an inch. That didn\u2019t stop me from picturing it free falling to the ground floor, like that Tower of Terror Disney ride. Just then the mysterious \u201cCALL CANCEL\u201d button buzzed loudly. Was that some sort of signal for me?<\/p>\n I pressed the button, hoping it\u2019d activate a sophisticated conference call system. Once again, nothing. I called the front desk. \u201cThere\u2019s a buzzing noise!\u201d I said.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d the doorman said. \u201cYou\u2019re gonna be okay. Just sit tight.\u201d <\/p>\n He sounded calm. Too calm? Oh. My. Goodness. I\u2019m going to be stuck in here forever!<\/em><\/p>\n I slowly moved to the back of the elevator and leaned against the wall, hoping my delicate movements wouldn\u2019t cause the elevator car to lurch wildly on whatever threadbare cables were holding it in place. <\/p>\n Time to take inventory of the supplies I had on me. I was wearing a very puffy winter coat that could act as a sleeping bag or, if necessary, a floatation device. In my handbag there were five clementines, a bottle of diet Snapple, lip balm and hand sanitizer.<\/p>\n Well, that would get me through to at least the afternoon\u2026but what about after that? I\u2019d left an hour early for the office that morning so I could work on a story that was due at noon.<\/p>\n I could just picture the newspaper headline the following morning: Woman Stuck in Elevator 19 Hours! Survives on Small Oranges\u2026But Misses Work Deadline.<\/em><\/p>\n The elevator lights flickered. Then went out completely. Then came back on. I could hear the other elevator cars whizzing by, taunting me. A voice came over the elevator\u2013ha! I knew there was a speaker system\u2013but I couldn\u2019t understand what it was saying. <\/p>\n And then, like it was no big deal at all, the elevator moved up and opened on the 16th<\/sup> floor. I rushed out, hopped on another elevator and rode down to the lobby. I was shaken up, but free!<\/p>\n \u201cAre you okay?\u201d the doorman said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cBut I was so scared in there!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know,\u201d he said, \u201cthat may have saved you from something else out there\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n I was taken aback at his cryptic words. In all my stages of panicking, I\u2019d never thought of that. I\u2019d prayed to God. I\u2019d worried about my story deadline. And whether or not I was about to meet my maker.<\/p>\n But never had it crossed my mind that God was keeping me on that elevator for a set amount of time for a very specific reason. Whoa! <\/p>\n What do you think? Just 20 minutes stuck on an elevator\u2026or a miracle in disguise? <\/p>\n Share your thoughts\u2013and your own miraculous elevator stories\u2013below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last Friday, I got stuck in the elevator in my apartment building for 20 long minutes. That probably doesn\u2019t sound so terrible. But I started freaking out the second the elevator froze mid-ride somewhere around the 16th floor. Not only was I all alone in a wood-paneled box, but I have a bit of an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":26512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[169],"ppma_author":[478],"class_list":["post-15629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gods-grace","tag-winter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n