Many years ago (before the age of cell phones), I worked in
Lincoln but lived in Decatur. My job required working very late
two nights a week. The trip home usually began at midnight.
One winter, Lincoln had an abundance of snow. Tall mounds of
snow lined the highways. Late one evening on a night that I
worked, another snowstorm began. My wife called, asking me to
stay in Lincoln rather than trying to drive to Decatur in the
storm. I told her I would drive to the edge of Lincoln and if
the conditions were bad, I would turn around.
Leaving Lincoln, the snowfall was heavy, but making it to
Decatur seemed doable. After passing through Mount Pulaski,
however, the world suddenly shrank to the confines of my car
because I was engulfed in a total whiteout -- could see nothing.
The snow was extremely heavy and blowing horizontally. Not being
able to see the road made turning around impossible.
Stopped somewhere past Mount Pulaski, I considered my
options. I discovered that if I lowered the driver's window and
looked to the left rather than straight ahead, the tall mound of
snow created by the snowplow was barely visible. The problem was
that the wind was blowing from that direction, and snow began to
freeze on the dash. I inched forward by looking left, orienting
on the high mound created by the snowplow.
Some time later, after it seemed
that I had gone around a curve, the snowplow's mound was no
longer visible. In order to see if my car was still on the road,
I got out and tried to dig through the packed snow to see if the
car was on pavement or grass. When I wasn't able to dig through
the snow with my gloved hands, the realization of my dire
situation set in. Standing in the headlights of my car, with
snow and wind swirling around me, I looked to heaven and made
the most sincere prayer of my life, which went something like
this...
GOD, HELP ME!!
What happened next was totally surreal. The clouds above me
separated (you heard me right) revealing a strip of totally
clear sky. The snowstorm still raged on each side, but a narrow
strip of crystal clear sky formed exactly above me. Then, a
blazing shooting star with a long tail shot precisely down the
center of the narrow strip of clear sky.
I dropped to my knees, realizing that my cry for help had
just been answered in such a dramatic and totally spectacular
way that one could not doubt God was there. The God of the
universe had just spoken to me through the shooting star,
telling me that he was there and not to fear.
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I rushed back into the car, heart racing. I was aglow much
like Moses coming down from the mountain. I was sure that I was
lighting up the inside of the car.
So now, with renewed peace and without fear, I once again began
inching the car forward. Suddenly a pair of headlights was
exactly in front of me. The thought went through my mind, "Why
would anyone be out here in weather like this?"
Each car moved forward slowly as
the storm continued to rage. As the cars came alongside each
other, the window of the other car came down and I strained to
look through the swirling snow to see the driver of the other
car. Then we were exactly next to each other, and I saw that the
other driver was...
my wonderful, loving, caring wife.
She was, despite the conditions, out in the storm trying to
find me.
We got out of our cars, and in the middle of the storm, in
the middle of the highway, we hugged and embraced each other in
such a special way that 25 years later I still remember clinging
to her and thanking God for her. We were only a mile from
Decatur, and I was soon in the wonderful warmth and comfort of
my home.
1 He who dwells in
the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the
LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will
save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you
with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and
rampart.
5 You will not fear
the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence
that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
--Psalm 91:1-6
(New International Version)
Prayer: In your word, O God, you repeatedly tell us to
"fear not." Yet we allow snowstorms, sickness, debt, adverse
relationships and a host of other circumstances to cause us to
tremble. Help us to understand and trust that you are always
there to protect, defend and restore us to a place of total
security and sanctuary in your loving arms.
[Here am I, send me] |
