Frank SanGregory of Tiffin, Ohio, was getting ready for work. He was on the afternoon shift so although his daughter Theresa and his almost-two-year-old grandson, Josh, were finishing lunch downstairs in the kitchen with Grandma, Frank had gone upstairs to shave. There was a large window at the top of the staircase, and right in front of it, Frank kept a large exhaust fan to circulate the air on hot days. But today was not hot so the fan was not running. Frank barely noticed it as he passed it, went into the bathroom and closed the door. He could still hear the laughter coming from downstairs. He adored his grandchildren, and hated to say goodbye to little Josh. But they lived nearby, so more fun would certainly be in store.

Frank started his routine. And then, “I don’t know why,” Frank says, “but a few minutes after I had closed the bathroom door, I felt as if I should open it and look out into the hallway.” He had no reason to do so, and he wasn’t finished shaving yet. “And I never opened the bathroom door before I was finished---except in very hot weather, perhaps. But today wasn’t hot. Neither did I hear anything that would cause me to open the door. There was no reason in my mind. I just decided that it was something that I should do. And so, I opened it just a slit.” His heart seemed to stop.

Little Joshua had followed Frank up to the second floor! There the two-year-old stood, on the next to last step, reaching out to take hold of the heavy fan, to pull himself up to the top of the stairs.

Time stopped.  Then, as Joshua grabbed the fan to brace himself, it started to tip towards him. Frank flung himself out the door, just in time to grab the tipping fan with his left arm. At the same instant, he was able to wrap his right arm around Joshua to keep him and the fan from rolling down the stairs. “Had I been even a second later, I shudder to think what could have happened,” Frank says. “The fan wasn’t running but it was very heavy, and Joshua would have no doubt been seriously hurt, or perhaps even killed.”

Frank has always believed that it was God urging him to peek out that bathroom door. Now he realizes it might have been his guardian angel, or even Joshua’s. Whatever the answer, God intervened and saved the family from a terrible tragedy. Grandpas everywhere give thanks.

(C) 2006  Joan Wester Anderson   www.joanwanderson.com