Angels Watching Over Me - The Memoirs of Gilles Goddard

By Tracy Krauss and Gilles Goddard

Gilles Goddard, a long-haul trucker and former marine, has persevered through life with a smile on his face and a story to tell. His extraordinary faith has produced a generosity and kindness of heart not often seen, despite great personal tragedy. Amidst five heart attacks, the loss of two children, and other personal tragedy, he's also witnessed miraculous supernatural intervention. Fifty years on the highways of North America taught him many lessons about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness – all recounted in a delightful, yet candid narrative sure to touch your heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fictitious Ink Publishing
• Release date: Aug 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781988447513

Tracy Krauss

Tracy Krauss is a best selling and award winning author and playwright. "Fiction on the edge without crossing the line"

Book preview

Chapter One

A TRUCKER'S LIFE

I drove truck for fifty years on the highways of North America, mostly between the USA and Canada, with a couple of little slips into Mexico to load up produce. I calculate that to be about five million miles, or 8 million kilometres. I’ve been to every State except Hawaii and Alaska. I’ve been to the Yukon border and all across Canada. Sometimes I think I’d like to retrace my steps and visit all the places I went, but I’d have to live to be 130 years old, I think, in order to do that! I hauled anything and everything. Propane, lumber, equipment, sea cans, steel - you name it.

In all that time, God has been with me all the way. I used to have a license plate on the front of my truck that said, God is my co-pilot. And I believe it’s true. I’ve seen a lot of things in my life. Been through a lot of tragedies, suffered a lot of heart-ache, had a lot of adventures - and a few near misses, too. I kept God so busy, I don’t know how He’s had time for anyone else!

I remember one winter day in Pennsylvania – and Pennsylvania is, for all intents and purposes, in the mountains. You’re either going uphill, downhill, or around a sharp corner. It was late in the afternoon, and it hadn’t rained down in the lower country, but up in the hills it had, and it was freezing rain.

I was coming back into Bayonne, New Jersey, with an empty tanker. I came to this hill and there was something at the bottom that I needed to steer clear of. When you’re trying to slow down on an icy stretch of road, sometimes it can be difficult, so I did the best I could. At one point, my tractor was forty-five degrees to my trailer. When I finally got it stopped, that’s the way I was sitting.

Then this other vehicle came along. They asked if I was hurt or if there was any damage. I said no to both. There was just this one muffler guard that got bent a little bit because I’d cranked so sharp, but the truck itself was fine.

We looked at the situation and decided it was best if I could try and get straightened around before somebody else came along. So, I started back and forth, crimpin’ and crampin’ until I got the rig straightened enough to get going downhill again. I got about halfway down that hill and the ice turned to water because of the temperature change. After that, it was smooth sailing.

In that incident, I believe God was with me. Nobody got hurt, and nobody got creamed out. The damage was nothing - just the little shield over the muffler.

At the time, it seemed like a minor incident, but all these little things add up. Over my lifetime, I’ve had my share of both big and little events, but my relationship to God has been just as important during the little ones as it has been with the big, because I know I can depend on Him. Jesus said, I will never leave you. You will never be alone.

In all my years, I got into the habit of saying a little thank you prayer when I get up. One of the first things I say is, Good morning, Holy Spirit. I also say good morning to the angels guarding me. I say good morning to Jesus, and good morning Father God. I don’t leave anybody out! I ask God to bless my wife and help me to be a blessing to someone else. That’s a good way to start the day, I think!

You can’t change yesterday, and there’s no point worrying about tomorrow. It’s not where you come from, but where you’re going that counts. But, I do believe we can learn from the past. Sometimes, God allows us to go through things so that we can learn a lesson ourselves, or help someone else along the way. I’m so grateful for all I’ve been through and can only pray that someone, somewhere, will benefit from my story.

I believe we’re all here for a reason. God has work for us to do, and until that gets done, we’re gonna be here until He decides we don’t belong anymore. Satan probably wants to get rid of us right now because we’re doing too much damage to his outfit. But he can’t take our life from us. If God is for us, who can be against us?

I’m here - and I shouldn’t be! I should have been dead forty-five or fifty years ago, but God must have something for me to do yet, ‘cause I’m sill kickin’ - and I’ll be here until it gets done! That’s what keeps me going.

As long as we have God to think about and thank for our life, we’ll be alright.

Chapter Two

EARLY YEARS

Where it All Began

I was born by a little town called Island Brook, Quebec. The area is called the Eastern Townships. Our place was about 125 miles east and a little bit south of Montreal, as the old road used to go. Now, with the new highway, it’s probably only about 90 miles.

I grew up there until we moved into Sherbrooke, Quebec, when I was six or seven years old. My parents split up - not very common in those days - and so my mom was a single parent most of the time. I had one sister - she was the oldest - and one brother. My sister was two years older than my brother, and my brother was two years older than me. I was the baby.

I got along with my sister, but for some reason, my brother and I never did get along very well. We managed to make up in our latter years, but now he has dementia. He still has a fair amount of memory, but he can’t really carry on a conversation or anything and doesn’t drive. His boys take him shopping and stuff.

Anyway, it was hard for me, sometimes. My mother was a Christian, but she couldn’t stand my father, so they couldn’t live together. I spent time with my mother, and I spent time with my father. My dad and I got along really good. My Dad was the one who delivered me.

The neighbour woman had said, Frank, when the time comes, you call me. Just open the window and holler, and we’ll hear you. They were close neighbours, obviously. It was September 15 and in the middle of the night, and at that time of year, it could be nasty weather. So, by the time Mrs. Kerr got there, I was already born.

Nobody ever mentioned this next part to me except my Dad, but he said my Mom tried to squeeze me when I was being born so that I wouldn’t come out alive. Apparently, she didn’t want me. Now, my Mom being a Christian, to do something like that, the enemy had to be working. You can’t just say, She was bad, because you never knew her. Maybe she couldn’t face another child, especially if she was unhappy in her marriage. In any