undeniably You. i knew it. You let me hear Your voice when i was 5 years old. you protected me and my brother... and i never thanked you. well here's the first thank you. this is the first experience i remember that proved your existence to me...

it wasn't too cold outside, i still remember the sun shining. a Woolworth's store right next to a KFC on Steinway - Queens. my mom, family friend, brother and i had been shopping around the Woolworth for what seemed like a long time. it was late in the afternoon when my dad rolled in from whatever errand he had to run. i'm sure we started complaining about being hungry or something, so my dad offered to take us to the KFC next door while my mom and the friend could continue to shop. my brother and i were stoked. for some reason though, we ended up waiting in the car, parked right in front of the KFC. i can still see the little dark parking meters lining the streets...

it had been a few minutes when i saw the briefcase in the front seat. i remembered my dad kept expensive gem and mineral samples in it - to show to jewelers and prospective business partners. it was then that i noticed all the car doors were unlocked... silver golf tee-looking locks, shining in the sunlight.
at that very moment... i heard a voice... inside my head almost... that whispered,
"lock the doors."

within that second i got up and moved from lock to lock, pushing down the closest one to me, then moving to the driver's side, then the passenger's side, and finally the backseat passenger's side, where my 4 year old brother was sitting.

as soon as i had sat down from locking all the doors, a group of 4 or 5 men surrounded the car. they saw us sitting in the backseat and started tapping on the windows. i completely drowned in panic. they motioned us to unlock the doors, harassing us through the windows to get us to let them in. all i could do was nod my head "no," until one of them got frustrated. he swooped down and picked up a rock. took one step back and hurled it at the front seat window. the entire window cracked as i heard glass shattering my ear drums.

i screamed.

i knew i had to get help. so i opened my brother's door, fell onto the sidewalk and sprinted into the KFC. i found my dad 8 people deep in line, and screamed out "SOMEONE'S TRYING TO STEAL THE CAR!" amidst my loss of panicked breath. i had to repeat it 4 or 5 times before my dad even understood it. it seemed like it took him a whole hour to realize what i was saying - as if he was contemplating to just stay in line, get his food, and then check out what his 5 year old was screaming about... finally he grabbed my hand to head for the exit. as we spilled onto the street, we saw our car - front window completely destroyed, and the backseat door wide open - my brother still sitting there as if nothing had happened.

it hit me - played over in my mind what had happened... and tears flooded my face. within a minute my mom and the friend had come to the car, and saw my distress. soon it became their distress - and the heaviness burdened us for the rest of the week.

i'd never known such fear as that day. but today, i look back on that situation and wonder, what would have happened if i didn't... lock those doors?

that voice saved me and my brother that day. and i'm beginning to see, that voice... that presence... has never left me or my brother. and i know it never will.