Close Call

Book excerpt: Have you ever had a harrowing or nerve-wracking experience and then thought to yourself when it was all over, Whew! That was a close call! Sure you have! We all have. Close calls happen every day to people just like you and me. But think for a moment. Have you ever wondered why? Have you chosen to view these events as divine orchestrations over time, or have you simply dismissed them as random, isolated occurrences? Did you think to thank God when you were eventually spared or when a disaster threatening the safety or welfare of others was averted? I mean really thank God? Did you say with conviction in your heart, “Thanks be to God!” or merely blurt out with a sigh of relief, “Thank God that’s over!”? Or were you so wrapped up in the excitement of the event that you never even considered God’s involvement? For many of us, the latter hits the nail on the head. We narrowly escape, breathe sighs of relief, consider ourselves lucky, and press on. Rarely, if ever, do we seem to view the close calls in our lives as divinely orchestrated, providential experiences with specific purposes and eternal implications. In this deeply personal and down to earth book, Mark Loring Wheeler, through a series of incredibly vivid and sometimes heart wrenching accounts of amazing close calls, makes a compelling case that the events in our lives are not just random occurrences, but rather divinely orchestrated experiences through which God reshapes and prepares us for a much greater purpose.