I Don’t Know You and You Don’t Know Me

Lying in bed, my blood suddenly ran cold. Fear and panic flooded me from out of nowhere. It’s Dan!

I was a junior in college and my older brother was a full-time flight instructor and a part-time commercial pilot for a local corporation. Growing up, he was my buddy.

Although my parents loved their Methodist church, from a young age I rebelled about going and it was a rare occasion for me to attend. If there was a God, I didn’t think I needed Him.

But suddenly laying there desperate, I cried out with intensity and urgency. “God, you don’t know me. My name is Donna. If Dan’s airplane falls from the sky, catch him! Protect him! Catch him in your hand! Keep him safe! Protect him!”

The next morning, I barely thought about what happened. I got up, got ready for school, and did my college thing.

Three days later, I came home and flopped on my bed. My roommate was already there. She asked about my day. I asked about hers. She paused for an awkward moment before saying, “Your dad called. Your brother was in a plane crash today.” It seemed like it took her way too long to say he survived, and he was at the hospital with a broken back and burns. The other pilot also survived with similar injuries.

Dan and Jason, another pilot, had taken the corporate plane up for take-off and landing practice for an FAA check-ride and were the only ones aboard. They lost power in one engine on takeoff and the power from the other engine drove them back into the ground. The plane was engulfed in flames. Jason was able to push the emergency door open and coax my brother to enough consciousness to run through the wall of flames.

The FAA investigators met my parents at the hospital. “We estimate the odds of one of those men surviving this accident to be 1 in a million,” they said. “We have no estimate for both men surviving.” People shook their heads in disbelief, not knowing what happened. But I knew.

-Donna Gates

#godsamazingmiracles #godsprotection #supernaturalintervention