Just a quick note of praise to God for protection.
As many of you know, I love watching the Boston Marathon. I had to work yesterday, but decided to drop by the finish line at the Marathon before I went to work in the afternoon. I arrived in the area around 2:15 p.m.
I was in the same vicinity of the explosion about 20 minutes before it took place. I remember walking by Marathon Sports on my way down Boylston street and standing across from the Lenox hotel to watch the runners for a few minutes.
I felt a strong sense of urgency to get to work. Whether it be a foreboding about a chilling event about to take place or fear of being too late to work, I do not know. I decided to walk up Boylston to see some of the Marathon on my way back to Beacon Street and was going to stop at Starbucks on Boylston. As I contemplated my choices something told me to get to work and go to the Starbucks on Beacon.
The street crossings were blocked off due to the race so you had to loop around a side street to cross to the next corner of Boylston. Approaching the last few blocks, I decided not to continue on Boylston and switched to Newbury the street parallel to Boylston. I was walking up Newbury when the explosions took place. It sounded like heavy trucks going over an overpass or a bump on the highway. The lady next to me remarked, "I hope that is just a dump truck." I thought about a bomb, but dismissed the thought and kept walking. I heard sirens go off, but there are always sirens in Boston. I went to Starbucks, walked up Beacon and didn't realize anything was wrong until I got to work and Josh was calling me.
Needless to say, I could not focus for the rest of the afternoon. Had I not gone to work, I may have very well been standing in that same vicinity of the explosion as it is my favorite spot to watch the Marathon. Praise God for His protection.
Unbeknownst to me, my Dad and a young man from church were passing out tracts on Boylston Street. Earlier in the day, my Dad parked his car in front of one of the historical churches on that street. He spoke to the tour guide and asked the price for the tour. Being as it wasn't free, he didn't take the tour. Ha, ha! My dad inadvertently dropped his keys and was looking all around for them before leaving the car. The same tour guide noticed this. Later, when someone miraculously turned in the keys that were found on the ground, he remembered seeing my Dad look for them.
Around 2:00 p.m,. my Dad arrived back to the car and was again looking for his keys. He called my mom and asked her to call the company to see if they would make a duplicate. Meanwhile, his plan was to walk back to the lost and found tent for the Marathon to see if his keys had showed up there.The same tour guide noticed that he was again looking for something and asked if the keys belonged to him. This is no small miracle. Had the keys not been turned in to that man, my dad most likely would have been up at the lost and found tent close to the explosion. The fact that the keys were turned in to the tour guide is no small miracle especially on such a crowded street in Boston.
My dad drove off and was out of the area when the explosion took place.
A verse that comes to mind. "The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. Psalm 34:7
Thank God for his protection!
