2021
Light to Protect Us
September 2021


“Light to Protect Us,” Liahona, September 2021

Latter-day Saint Voices

Light to Protect Us

The driver never got out of his truck, but I knew that he had come to protect us.

snowy road at night

Photograph from Getty Images

On a cold winter night in February, my two children and I, along with my mother, Jo Ann, were driving to Idaho. Our eight-hour drive included driving through two mountain passes. During this time of year, the weather can be brutal.

We had just left Baker City, Oregon, when it began to snow. As we drove, the snowflakes grew bigger and bigger. Within minutes, as we drove through a mountain pass, I could not see anything in front of me, so I pulled over. I prayed to Heavenly Father to help me get my family to safety. After I prayed, a semitruck pulled up behind us, stopping within inches of my bumper.

The driver never got out of his truck, and I never saw his face. But I knew at that moment that he had come to protect us. By parking behind us, he used his truck lights to alert other drivers that we had pulled over. When I finally got the courage to continue driving, we pulled back onto the road behind another semitruck while the first semitruck stayed behind us. We drove between the two trucks as they guided us out of danger.

As we left the mountain pass, the snow turned to rain. I wanted to thank the driver behind us, but as soon as we were out of the pass, I couldn’t see him. By then, I knew we were going to be OK and would make it home safe and sound, which we did.

I have never been so scared in my life. I am grateful that Heavenly Father sent guardian angels to protect us, ease our worries, and give me the strength and courage I needed to bring my family home.

two women and two little boys standing next to a car

“I have never been so scared in my life,” says Chelsey, pictured with her mother, Jo Ann Bressler, and her sons, Wyatt and Adam.

Photograph courtesy of the author

Ironically, I am the daughter of a truck driver. Heavenly Father answered my prayer by sending us protectors in the form of truck drivers. My testimony grew much that night—not only of prayer but also that He is with us always and forever.