By Zhang Hui, Italy
It was high summer, and my five coworkers and I took a trip by bicycle to the Mountain Nankun Scenic Area. The four-day trip over, the six of us decided to cycle down the mountain. Before we set off, the leading coworker had each of our bicycles examined and told us to have the speed under control and not to fall behind. Everything well prepared, I looked around, seeing we were surrounded by mountains. In the distance, there were endless and undulating mountains; dimly perceptible mountain roads seemed like long ties without end. I took a deep breath, “Ah! It’s so high. I must be careful.” At the leader’s command, “Let’s go,” we each, in turn, began to ride our bikes down along the bumpy mountain road.
On the way, when the trucks and buses rushed past me, the dust flew in the wind and fell on my face. I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes slightly, yet I dared not wipe them off with my hand, for fear that I would lose control of my bike and fall down. Suddenly, I felt my bike was speeding up because of inertia, so that I passed my partners and also continuously passed other tourists in front of me. At that time, I heard my companions shouting, “Stop! Make it Stop!” I applied the brakes immediately but my bike didn’t stop. The brakes failed!
Soon the shouting of my partners died away with my bicycle running downhill rapidly. Glancing at both sides of the road, I saw on my right were thick jungles, and on my left a gloomy deep valley. It made me absolutely terrified. I thought, “My bicycle is out of control. If it can’t stop, it’ll surely rush down into the valley, and I’ll certainly be dead.” I was extremely tense and scared, beads of sweat breaking out on my forehead. I held the handlebars and brakes tightly, daring not to loosen for a second, so that my hands became swollen and then bloody. At that moment, I was looking attentively at every curve of the road ahead, not even noticing the pain in my hands. Like on a roller coaster, I rode down a steep slope of 45 degrees, and then rounded a 30-degree bend, running down along the rough mountain road. Meanwhile, my heart beat fast, for fear that if there was no bend, I would plunge directly into the bottom of the valley and die!
Just as I was worried, there was no bend ahead and my bicycle sped down the mountainside. I saw that a valley, too deep for me to see its bottom, separated two mountains. It was faintly visible that the two mountains were linked by a stone slab bridge of about 20 meters long and 3 meters wide. However, my bike was totally out of control then, and I was unable to control its direction at all. With its handlebars swinging constantly, sometimes my bike went to the middle of the road, sometimes to the roadside. I thought, “Oh no, it’s over! It is only more than 20 meters before I rush into the valley. If I fall to the valley, I’ll certainly be dashed to pieces. What should I do? What should I do?”
Just then, I remembered I was a Christian and the Lord Jesus with great power certainly could save me. So I called loudly, “Oh Lord, help me, help me!” As soon as I finished my words, my bicycle fell on the middle of the road with a thud, and I was thrown into a puddle of a mountain stream two meters away from my bicycle, where I was jammed. At that moment, I didn’t open my eyes, but I could often hear vehicles passing fast and the wheels rotating with sand and stones.
Before long, my companions came to the spot and called my name, and I responded with all my strength, “I’m here!” Then, they, following my voice, found me and dragged me slowly out of the puddle. After rising, I didn’t feel anything was seriously wrong with me and could still move freely. They said in surprise, “It is a miracle. We saw you dash across from this mountain to that one, like riding a roller coaster, and disappear in the blink of an eye. When we came here, we only saw your bicycle lying in the middle of the road but couldn’t find you. We were so anxious, believing you must have plunged into the valley or been knocked flying by a vehicle. This really is a surprise. You’re still alive. Could it be that Heaven has protected you?” At that time, with tears, I told them excitedly, “Yes, indeed. I believe in the Lord Jesus. He is the only true God. It is the Lord Jesus that has saved me when I called on Him in despair. It is the Lord Jesus that has given me a second life.” “It is God that has protected you and saved you from the brink of death!” “That’s right. If you had fallen by the roadside or in the middle of the road, you might have been in danger of being crushed to death by the vehicles running down the mountain!” …
After hearing what they said, I thought of the scenes that had just occurred. It was really frightful. My bike was out of control, and I had no way to deal with it, only rushing down the mountain path. When there was no bend, I thought I would fall into the valley due to inertia, and be as dead as a doornail. But at the moment my bike nearly rushed into the valley, the Lord heard my prayer—my bike ceased miraculously and I thus survived, lying on the ground, safe and sound. I was grateful to God for saving me in time, from the depth of my heart. Afterward, my coworkers helped me clean the bloodstains on my neck with tissues and cover the wound with band-aids. And then, we pushed our bicycles home.
I saw the Book of Psalms says, “For you have possessed my reins: you have covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well” (Psalms 139:13–14). That’s true. God not only gave us the breath of life, but He is always at our side, ensuring our safety, watching over us and protecting us. We not only can see God’s wonderful deeds but also can experience and perceive them. Through this experience on my way back from the trip, I felt God’s protection for me and also personally experienced God’s authority and almightiness.
