An Arizona utility worker became a guardian angel for a toddler who broke free from his parent and bolted toward busy Phoenix traffic in a terrifyingly close call.
We all know the frustration when we run late for work or church. The keys go missing right before the moment we need to walk out the door. The kids throw a bigger tantrum than ever. And if everything goes smoothly at home, then here it is, we get stuck behind a slow truck on a narrow road.
We feel like the whole day is already ruined before it even starts. But have you ever stopped and thought that maybe God had a reason for that delay? That maybe He was keeping you from something worse down the road? Or placing you somewhere you needed to be?
We see the clock, but He sees the whole map of our lives. And for one utility worker in Phoenix, a simple delay turned out to be the very thing that saved a toddler’s life.
Robert Butler works as a troubleman with Arizona Public Service. He handles electrical emergencies and power outages. On this particular day, extra training and paperwork had put him behind schedule. And he ended up driving down a downtown Phoenix street he doesn’t normally take. That delay changed everything.
As he drove, Butler noticed a wagon and umbrella sitting on the sidewalk with nobody around. Then his heart dropped. A three-year-old boy was running full speed toward a dangerous intersection packed with traffic. Butler pulled over right away, jumped out of his bucket truck, and grabbed the child just inches before he reached the street.
APS supervisor Kort Meyer had spotted the boy too. He took off running to help but a gate blocked his path. Thankfully, Butler got there first.
Butler heard a woman screaming nearby. It was the boy’s mother. He reunited the toddler with her, and what could have been a tragedy turned into a moment of pure relief.
“I normally don’t drive down this street. I’m just grateful I was in the right place at the right time,” Butler said. “I have a 2-year-old son, and I know how fast kids can move once they get going and they’re on their mission. As a parent, I can definitely relate.”
Butler became emotional and couldn’t hold back his tears when he recounted the rescue.
“That’s when it really sunk in how bad that could’ve been,” he said. “Something that day put me in that spot, and I was able to help. I’m glad I was.”
Butler doesn’t believe any of it was a coincidence. He reflected on the whole experience as divine intervention. And honestly, we believe it too. It was the hand of God that placed this kind-hearted man at the right place at the right time to save a child’s life.
WATCH: Toddler Runs Toward Traffic, But a Delayed Utility Worker Was There Just in Time
