A Treasury of Miracles for Teens (16 page)

“Wanna ride?” one of them called out.

Mia stifled a laugh. “Right!” she shouted over the roar of noise that filled the street. “Like we’d take a ride with a total
stranger.”

The young man smiled. “Oh, come on. We’re just circling the parade route. Climb in back. We’ll take you around once and drop
you back off.”

Mia and Tanya exchanged a knowing glance, silently agreeing that the driver was indeed very handsome. At that instant, Steve
Simons from their Young Life group stepped in. “What’s going on?”

Mia pointed to the guy in the truck. She was grateful for the protection of the group. “He wants to take us around the route
once.”

Steve looked from the guy in the truck to Mia and Tanya. “Do you know him?”

“Yes.” Tanya stepped forward. “From school.” She shot a desperate look at Mia. “Right?”

Mia eyed the truck and the handsome boys
inside. What harm could come if she and Tanya sat in the back and rode once around the parade route? Traffic was moving so
slowly that they could always jump out if they didn’t want to stay with the guys.

A smile lifted the corners of her lips. “Sure.” She grinned at Tanya. “We met ’em last year.”

“Well?” The driver of the truck smiled, his eyes shining. Behind him cars were backed up and honking at him. “You coming or
not?”

Mia looked at Tanya and shrugged. What could it hurt? Besides, it was New Year’s Eve. Grabbing her friend’s hand, Mia pulled
her toward the truck. “Sure. You only live once. Let’s go!”

Steve Simons stepped back. “As long as you know them,” he shouted as they pulled away. “Be careful.”

Tanya and Mia situated themselves against the rear of the cab and waved at the thousands of people lined up on either side
of the road. The wind felt wonderful on Mia’s face and her heart was light within her. So what if they’d told Steve a small
lie. This was the life, wasn’t it? Riding along with a couple of gorgeous guys, celebrating the New Year in style.

For twenty minutes the fun continued. Mia and Tanya laughed and sang songs at the top of their lungs. They linked arms and
pretended it was New Year’s morning and they were part of the parade. A few times the guys yelled something out the side
windows, and always their tone sounded happy and upbeat.

But when thirty minutes had passed, Mia suddenly noticed that the crowd lining the street had thinned. There were no longer
markers indicating that they were on the parade route. At about that time she spun around and stared at the guys in the cab.
The driver leaned over and whispered something to his friend, and both laughed out loud.

That’s when Mia noticed that both guys were drinking. There were several empty beer cans along the floor of their vehicle.

Just then the vehicle came to a stop at an intersection. “We’re leaving Pasadena!” She gripped Tanya’s arm. “The guys are
leaving with us!”

Suddenly, above the noise of the boys’ truck radio, Mia heard a voice whisper in her ear, “Get out! They’re taking you to
the beach to rape you.”

Panic filled Mia’s heart. She had no time to wonder who had whispered the warning as she peered through the back window and
the windshield. What she saw made her heart skip a beat. They were about to enter the westbound Ventura Freeway—a route that
eventually would lead them to the beach.

“Quick!” she shouted at Tanya. “We’re in trouble! Get out!” Tanya’s mouth fell open but she made no move to jump out of the
truck.

Just then, the driver sped up so that they were
moving twice as fast as before. Mia gasped. He must have heard her scream and now he was barreling toward the freeway ramp.

In a split-second decision Mia knew she would rather die on a roadway in Pasadena than be taken to the beach and raped.
God? I’ve gotten myself in a crazy spot here. Help me … please!
She crawled toward the back of the truck, stood up, and jumped onto the roadway before Tanya could stop her.

Mia felt herself sail through the air.
This is it,
she thought,
I’m going to die and I’ll never have the chance to tell my parents I’m sorry.
Then there was nothing but silence.

Cars from all directions came to a screeching halt as Mia’s body slammed onto the pavement and slid into the middle of the
intersection. Although a number of cars were traveling fast and headed right toward her, one at a time each of them swerved
and missed hitting her.

Later, one of the passersby would say there seemed almost to be a protective shield around the girl as she lay in the road
untouched by the heavy traffic. A motorcycle police officer had seen what happened. He called for help and was instantly at
Mia’s side. He had worked enough accident scenes to know that the girl would have serious injuries. Perhaps even fatal injuries.

He ran to her side. “Don’t move.” He reached for her pulse. “I’ve already called for help.”

Mia couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
She should’ve been terribly injured, but nothing hurt. Instead there was a strange sense of assurance, mingled with the greatest
urgency she’d ever felt. “My friend!” Tears streamed down her face. “They’re going to rape my friend.”

The officer looked up and saw the pickup truck. For a moment, the truck had temporarily pulled off to the side of the road
when Mia had jumped. But now the driver was attempting to enter the freeway once again. Immediately the officer climbed back
onto his motorcycle, flipped on his red lights, and in a few seconds pulled the truck over.

As soon as the truck stopped, Tanya climbed out the back and ran toward Mia, who was still in the middle of the street. Several
drivers and parade goers had rushed to the scene and were gathered around her, trying to help. Tanya was crying when she reached
her friend.

“Why did you do that, Mia?” She stood over her friend and ran her hand through her hair. “You could have killed yourself!”

“They were going to rape us, Tanya. I heard it. Someone told me they were going to take us to the beach and rape us.”

Tanya’s face grew pale. “Who said it? I didn’t hear anything.”

Mia pointed toward the freeway signs. “Look. They left the parade route a long time ago, and they were just about to take
us on the freeway.
They’re drinking, Tanya. As soon as we got on the freeway, we would have been good as dead. Don’t you see?”

Tanya looked back at the truck where the police officer was administering a sobriety test to the young man behind the wheel.
“Mia, you’re right. I can’t believe we were so stupid.” Tanya was terrified as she knelt by her friend’s side. “Are you okay?”

For the first time since jumping from the car, Mia rolled onto her back and sat up. She was wearing long white denim jeans
and her eyes grew wide as she ran her fingers over her knees. She had fallen right onto the pavement and skidded several feet
along the asphalt before coming to a stop. Yet the knees and fronts of her jeans were completely clean and unharmed.

Suddenly Mia remembered that as she hit the road she had seemed to lose all sense of feeling in her body. There had been no
pain, no fear—only a certainty that she had done what she had to do to save her life.

Now as she remembered the strange sensation of landing on the road without pain, she looked at the palms of her hands. She
had seen her hands sliding along the street and knew they should have been torn apart from the rough road. But as she examined
them she found that they, too, were unharmed. Her skin was as soft and unscratched as if she had never touched the road.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. “Can you see this, Tanya? I’m
perfectly
fine.”

Tanya studied her friend and for a long while she said nothing. She had seen the way Mia had jumped from the car and landed
harshly on the pavement. It was impossible that she would be unmarked by the fall.

Mia stood up and looked herself over once more. There wasn’t even any dirt to brush off her body, and she felt perfectly fine.
Too stunned to wait for the police officer, she motioned for Tanya to follow her, and the girls set off walking back toward
their friends. They were silent much of the way, until at last their group came into sight. At that moment Mia stopped and
glanced down at her shirtsleeve. There was the sticker, also completely unscathed by the jump.

“Jesus loves me,” she said out loud, her voice almost trancelike. Then she looked at Tanya. “What just happened doesn’t make
sense. I jumped from a moving truck and I’m perfectly fine.” She paused for what seemed like nearly a minute. “Tanya,” she
finally said, taking the sticker from her sleeve and holding it carefully in her hand. “It was a miracle what happened tonight.
That’s why that man gave me this sticker. I think God knew what was going to happen, and he looked out for us.”

Tanya reached out and hugged her friend tightly. It was obvious that it would be a long time before
the shock of what had happened that night would wear off. “How come you’re not cut up or hurt?” Tanya walked in a slow circle
around Mia. “I mean, you don’t have a scratch on you!”

“I know … thank God.” Mia felt the sting of tears in her eyes. “It’ll be a New Year’s Eve I’ll never forget.”

Y
ou’ve had the chance to sort through A
Treasury of Miracles for Teens
and allow the stories to touch your heart. Now it’s your turn. The following section of blank pages is offered here for you,
as a way for you to include your story among this treasury.

Some of you are nodding and reaching for a pen. The idea of writing the story of something special God has done for you is
an easy one. But others of you are shaking your head, not certain you actually have a story. For you, I offer the following
questions to jump-start your memory.

• Have you ever had a super serious prayer request or need and then everything somehow worked out? If so, the problem, prayer,
  and solution is a story waiting to be written.
  
• Have you ever witnessed something amazing or miraculous where one of your friends or family
  members was concerned? If so, this miracle story is worth putting down on paper.
  
• Was there ever a time when a stranger offered you help, hope, or encouragement? Is it possible that person could have been
  an angel? Write the story and be careful to include the little details.
  
• Have you or any of your friends or family experienced an increase in faith, and in the process witnessed a miraculous change
  in some aspect of life? Tell about the before and after of this person, and again, look for the amazing details that make
  a difference.
  

Remember, this collection isn’t complete until it has your story here in the back of the book. It’s a treasury—a treasure
chest of stories—and nothing could be more precious than your personal account of God’s miraculous presence among us.

Grab your pen and get writing. This will be a book you’ll want to keep around. That way, when the news shouting at you from
the TV is nothing but bad, you’ll have something to fall back on.

And better yet, a reason to believe.