I was finishing off the peak inside of a log home I was building. I was working alone installing tongue and groove knotty pine on the cathedral ceiling. The ceiling was all done except the very peak. To reach the peak I had erected three sets of scaffolding, each set being five feet high for a total of fifteen feet. On top of the scaffolding I placed two 2×10 planks and on these I set a step ladder. Not the safest way to do things, but I wasn’t concerned about it at the time. Looking back it was rather foolish.

As I installed the ceiling I would climb up the ladder and measure, and then come down, cut a piece of lumber and then climb back up the ladder and nail it in place. Then I would measure for the next piece and do it all over again.

I had worked my way about a third of the way across  when I go this funny feeling. I looked down and to my horror one of the 2×10’s had slid off the scaffolding. The plank was just touching one side of the round bar it was setting on. With all the moving I was doing on the ladder as I was working, it was not possible that the plank could set like that. If it had slipped off, I would have went flying head first 20+ feet to the floor. To make matters worse I would have hit a cross tie log on the way down.

Very carefully I climbed down the ladder and worked my way around the scaffolding to the plank. Slowly I went to take a hold of the plank. As soon as my hand passed under the plank it dropped into my hand. It hadn’t fell when I was on the ladder moving around or while I was climbing around the scaffolding, but it fell the instant my hand went under it. I did not touch or bump the plank. My hand was three or four inches below it when it suddenly dropped. I know there was an angel holding up that plank until my hand passed under it. In fact, I spoke at the time: “I know that there is an angel here and I thank you and I thank God that sent you”. I’m sure I could feel the presence of God or his angel, although it could have been the emotion at the time.