Man, I thought, this guy’s strong as rock, even though he looks so scrawny. We’d all just crossed the washout when an old ranger came along. “You guys have been really lucky so far,” he said. “I was stuck myself about a mile up and I’ve been watching you. You were taking the only safe route at this level for miles.”

“So what should we do now?” I asked. “Well, there are rockslides and another storm headed our way. So I want you all to hike a half mile up the trail to the next rest area. It’s safe there.” We sped off. I glanced back to look for the hiker, but he wasn’t behind us.

In fact, he had disappeared. Guess he must know a shortcut. Finally we reached the rest area. There were about 50 others there. Everyone had a few nicks and bruises, but

we were alive, and that was what mattered. I was curious about that lone hiker. “Hey, has anybody seen a skinny guy with a beard and wide-brimmed hat?”

I asked around the group. No luck. Then the old ranger came by.

“The storm’s shifted west,” he said. “So we’re going to try to lead you out.” I went up to him. “Have you seen a hiker? About forty? Beard? Skinny?” “Sorry, kid,” he said. “Ain’t seen him.” “Can you believe no one’s seen that hiker?”

I asked Mom. “Well,” she mused, “it is called Bright Angel Trail.” That’s when I realised that even when all our preparations failed us, God never had. Yeah, he really did something awesome here. — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)