It’s late night. She’s driving an empty highway. The radio is playing something lively. She’s heading toward South Carolina. A new life. A new job. A new town.
She’s got a lot going for her. She’s fresh out of college, smart, ambitious, she comes from a good family, she’s got all the support she can stand.
She’s giddy about her new job. She starts on Monday. She’ll get her own office, good benefits, the whole enchilada. She’s wondering where life is going to take her next, and she’s pure excitement.
She doesn’t see the deer jump in front of her. All she hears is the sound of crunching.
It’s over fast. She smashes into a guardrail, her vehicle tumbles a few times. There is blood in her vision, but she’s not hurt—it’s a miracle.
Her car is wrecked, she’s stuck in a ditch, but she’s alive with no broken bones. She tries to crawl out of the vehicle, but the door is jammed.
That’s when she hears something. Footsteps in the brush. A man crawls into her vehicle through the shattered windshield. He pulls her free.
Her new friend says, “You’re gonna be alright.”
It’s dark. They hike toward the highway to flag a car down. When she gets to the road, the man is gone.
Here’s another:
Bill has cancer. It started as a skin problem on his back. It grew fast. It spread. Doctors operate and cut it out.
After the invasive procedure, he lies on a hospital bed, subjected to lethal doses of daytime television.
Bill is sad. He has no wife, no children, no immediate family to visit him. He’s never felt as alone as he does today.
Then.
He sees a child, standing by the open door. He doesn’t know how the boy got in. Only friends and family are allowed to visit—Bill has neither.
The kid must be about ten or eleven. He is by himself, dark skinned, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans.
“Who’re you?” Bill says.
The child answers, “I’m here for you, Bill.”
Bill falls asleep. When he wakes, the kid is gone. That was ten years ago. Bill is still cancer free.
One more:
His wife is pregnant with a child. There are complications. She has the baby prematurely. The child has a weak heart. He lasts two years.
The death is a shock. He and his wife mourn so hard, they aren’t sure they’ll ever recover. And they don’t—at least not together. They divorce. He moves out, she gets the house.
One day, he is at a jobsite, running electrical wire in a pine-framed house. There is an elderly man who shows up. The man looks homeless—long beard, layered clothes, gaunty.
They start talking. The old man is friendly.
In the middle of their conversation, the old man says, “I think you oughta go back to your wife.”
The young man just stares at him. “How’d you know I was married?”
“Go to her. Go now.”
The man wanders away.
After work, he calls his wife. She tells him that her sister has just died this morning. She is a wreck.
He hops a flight to be with her. He stays with her through the worst. And he stays after that, too.
After fourteen years they’ve made a beautiful life for themselves. They are the proud parents of twin girls.
Listen, I don’t know what you’re facing today. Maybe it’s something bad. Maybe it’s not a big deal. Maybe, it’s a late car insurance payment. Maybe it’s something fatal. Maybe it’s something worse.
Well, I don’t have any knowledge on how the universe works. I don’t know anything about the nature of life, and you have no reason to care about a word I say. But if you’ve read this far, there’s something I want to tell you:
You’re going to be okay. And you’re not alone.
That’s not an opinion.
56 comments
Fran - June 4, 2018 5:46 am
Promise?
Jeannie Durley - June 4, 2018 5:53 am
Getting choked up every night ! Love !!
Martha Taylor - June 4, 2018 5:57 am
Your columns bring me to tears. Your columns renew my spirit. Never stop what you are doing. You are reaching into hearts and minds and souls of people you will never meet. What you do is a gift far beyond your imagination.
ccgoesdutch - June 4, 2018 6:03 am
thanks Sean, at this moment I needed that story.
Glenda H - June 4, 2018 9:22 am
Oh Sean, I love you more than oyster casserole!
Linda - June 4, 2018 9:27 am
Needed that very much today, Sean.
Thank you ….
Steven P Bailey - June 4, 2018 9:34 am
Beautiful and timely.
Ronnie - June 4, 2018 10:13 am
Thanks!
Anna Ehrhardt - June 4, 2018 10:37 am
Thank you. I don’t know why I read your column first this morning but I did……….and I am glad. I feel better.
D. Green - June 4, 2018 10:38 am
Can’t even say how much I needed this RIGHT NOW. Going to save to read again . . . and again. Thank you.
Bob Cantrell - June 4, 2018 11:02 am
Thanks Sean
Hillbilly Bob
Sue - June 4, 2018 11:41 am
God sends angels to us when we need them. I firmly believe this. We are never alone.
David Styers - June 4, 2018 11:48 am
You should have been writing all your life
Ellen Walters - June 4, 2018 11:51 am
Thanks Sean! I so needed to hear that this morning!
Lylabeth King - June 4, 2018 11:52 am
Sean, it’s as if you know me and know what I need to read each morning. God reaches me through your writings. Thank you.
Trina V. - June 4, 2018 12:10 pm
How do you do it? How do you know exactly what I need to hear? It is almost as if you and I are talking at the kitchen table over a cup of coffee.
elainenkarrh - June 4, 2018 12:23 pm
You slay me,every time..
Jackye Thompson - June 4, 2018 12:39 pm
Thank you for your words today.i needed the boost today.was
So timely .God Bless you.Jackye
Robert Arban - June 4, 2018 1:39 pm
You’re right Sean, we’re never alone, we have a heavenly father who loves us unconditionally, all we have to do is believe
Charlu Kent - June 4, 2018 1:42 pm
Yup ??❤️?
Pattie (pattiemac1977) - June 4, 2018 1:55 pm
Awesome read and profound thoughts! Thank you ??
Mary - June 4, 2018 2:10 pm
I needed to hear that.
Connie Havard Ryland - June 4, 2018 2:23 pm
Everybody needs to hear that sometimes. Thank you for the reminder. Love and hugs.
Val Jensen - June 4, 2018 2:33 pm
Thank you so much for writing this message…..I especially needed to read it today and it has helped me to feel not so alone in what I am struggling with. I read your writings everyday and get such a feeling of peace and calm. Keep on sending your messages as I’m sure you have helped many more people than you realize.
Connie Jones - June 4, 2018 2:36 pm
Sean, you always make me feel good even on a Monday. Thanks…
GEORGE THOMAS JONES - June 4, 2018 2:57 pm
SEAN–I BELIEVE IN GUARDIAN ANGELS–I BELIEVE YOU DO, TOO
Jack Quanstrum - June 4, 2018 3:06 pm
Thank you for the uplifting stories!
Kay Keel - June 4, 2018 3:22 pm
I needed to read this today. Thank you!
Jack Darnell - June 4, 2018 3:42 pm
Me and Kay keel above!
Janice Takashima - June 4, 2018 3:43 pm
Today I am grateful for your reminding me that there are good people in the South, quietly doing good things for people who might never realize it. As they do it for the least of these…
Thank you, Sean.
Edna B. - June 4, 2018 3:43 pm
I love these stories. I believe in guardian angels. They’ve been here for me more than once. Thanks for believing too. You have a blessed day. Hugs, Edna B.
Laurence - June 4, 2018 3:46 pm
Sean, I think you are working to hard. No one will blame you for taking an occasional day off
Lynn - June 4, 2018 3:51 pm
With tears in my eyes…thank you… I needed this
Linda Chapman - June 4, 2018 3:54 pm
You, my Dear Sean, are an angel……
Barbara Jean Morris - June 4, 2018 3:56 pm
I just love reading these short stories. some are entertaining others are enlightening… anyway, thank you for them.
Rachel Firestone - June 4, 2018 4:18 pm
God’s timing is always perfect
Barbara Schweck - June 4, 2018 4:51 pm
There ARE always Angels among us. Thank you Lord, for Sean.
lfshurden - June 4, 2018 4:55 pm
Just what I needed today. Thanks.
Peter Heyer - June 4, 2018 5:09 pm
AMEN! Keep it up!
Jean Brown - June 4, 2018 7:03 pm
Thank you, though it doesn’t feel like it now. Maybe someday.
Cindy S - June 4, 2018 8:22 pm
Oh, Sean how I needed this today! You’re an angel of the Lord that just gave me a much needed tap on the shoulder. I just found out I need a kidney biopsy in 2 days. Bless you for your kind words and reminder that God is always with us. Blessings.
Fraulein - June 4, 2018 8:23 pm
Thank you. I am a active and believing Christian but today I needed to read this. God is here and miracles still happen
Frances Jones - June 4, 2018 8:49 pm
Thanks. I needed that.
Pamela McEachern - June 4, 2018 9:20 pm
I too believe Angels surround us in our darkest hours and I believe this because it has happened for me. Thank you for the beauty and sincere messages you give us all.
Peace and Love from Birmingham
Margaret - June 5, 2018 12:53 am
I needed that. Been a little down. I love your stories. You definitely have a gift. Thanks you.
Mary Ellen Hall - June 5, 2018 1:40 am
THANK YOU FOR THIS SEAN!!!
I DEFINITELY NEED THIS TODAY!!!
GOD BLESS YOU, MY FRIEND!!
Linda Till - June 5, 2018 3:01 am
Thank you, Sean I am going to have surgery soon and I have been so scared that it might have a bad outcome and I’ll be worse off than now. I needed to hear what you said. You are so right!!
Martha Dickson - June 5, 2018 3:03 am
My youngest daughter passed away 2/12/2018. She was my best friend, we talked everyday at least twice and sometimes more. I miss her so much and sometimes it seems like I cannot go on. Reading this touch me. I needed that at this time. Thank you so much.
Suzanne - June 5, 2018 4:00 am
Thank you! ?
Linda Kendrick - June 5, 2018 7:32 am
Thank you so much for this message. It is exactly what I needed to hear
Bobbie - June 5, 2018 1:31 pm
Thank you, Sean!
Jody - June 5, 2018 8:57 pm
Thanks for the reassurance. God is good!
Linda Hempfleng - June 5, 2018 9:00 pm
Thank you, Sean!!
Donna Johns - June 7, 2018 11:29 am
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Lisa Snuggs - June 7, 2018 12:22 pm
I’m catching up on my daily dose of Sean of the South. I just read “Friends” from June 4 that ends with “You’ll be Okay.” I’m able to read this morning because I’m in the waiting room at Levine Cancer Center in Charlotte, NC. When my brother comes out from his PET scan, I’m going to read this to him. When we see his oncologists later today, I hope they, too, will say, “You’ll be Okay.” Prayers appreciated.
Patricia Yard - August 2, 2018 1:42 pm
Perfectly timed as usual! After surviving “The Widow Maker” on the 11th, my Mom leaving with the Angels on the 14th just an hour or so after I got home from the hospital, this could not have come at a better time! The Cardiologist shook my hand yesterday and congratulated me. He point blank told me that even my EKG held no visible clues to my ordeal from the 11th. He placed my stent on the 12th, in the LAD Artery that was 100% Occluded. He also told me that The Big Guy upstairs had his hand on me, that he could think of no other reason for my survival. In the doctors words, “You, sweet lady are a walking medical Miracle”. I have given some thought to changing my Birthdate to the 12th, instead of the 20th. I wasn’t alone those 3 days, nor did I feel alone during the procedure. There is one person who stayed by my right shoulder the whole time, much older, white hair and beard. He wasn’t introduced to me like the other folks were, he wasn’t the guy that was in charge of my IV meds, and after a few minutes of final pictures, I remember him sitting there for a while, while the crew talked with each other about my case, the one they’ve NEVER witnessed before. After I was moved back to my bed, and readied to return to ICU, I looked, and he was gone. On the 14th, I was brought home that afternoon, I was so excited to go by the Manor and see my Mom the next morning. She had been there battling Dementia. I wanted to share my good news with her. About an hour and half after me getting home, the Angels came to take her from this life. I attended her viewing and service in a wheelchair. I didn’t intend for this comment to be so long, but I know I wasn’t alone. And there have been many instances in the past that I also had much needed company. Thank you for touching my still healing heart this morning!