With the
Labor Day holiday I am reminded of one of the most amazing incidents that took
place during that holiday in 2007. Since
I recorded the event in my “tidbit” journal, I’m taking my words for this post
from that entry. May you be blessed as I was on that extraordinary ride.
“The Labor Day weekend found Larry, Haley [our
youngest daughter] and me travelling to Springfield, Mo to help Quinn, Rebecca
and Nora [our son and his family] load up to move to Hays, Ks. All week I had
been apprehensive about the drive. Anxiety and fear took hold. Satan was
determined to take control. Over and over I spoke to God about this attack,
knowing full well that my God was more powerful than Satan. Various stories of
Scripture came to mind as God led the way for His people, the Israelites,
through the wilderness. God leads the way for all who trust Him. And God led
the way for us.
“We had
decided to turn off at the Clinton, Mo exit because according to Map Quest,
that was the quickest way. Never taken this exit before, I was worried that I
would direct Larry incorrectly causing him to respond with frustration. That
was my fear above all…Larry’s disapproval. However, I had considered the
possibility of our missing the turn off, and we would still be okay. The trip
would just take longer.
“Shortly after passing around Kansas City, we came
upon a line of traffic several miles long due to the Labor Day holiday. There
were four lanes so we kept passing the bumper to bumper line-up by staying in
the third lane. It was already dark so landmarks were impossible to distinguish,
but the exchanges were well marked. We noticed that the Clinton exit was fast
approaching, but we were in the third lane and needed to be in the second.
Every time Larry tried to cut in, the closure would stop us. We were maybe 100
feet to the turn off and suddenly, a truck in the second lane hesitated, and we
slipped over and made the exit. We had bypassed the traffic jam and continued
without delay. God provided the space for us. There’s no doubt in my mind that
He orchestrated that opportunity. God did, indeed, lead the way. And my concern
of disappointing Larry was gone as well. It was AWESOME!
“As I reflect upon the trip to Springfield and the
Clinton exit incident, I’m drawn to the story of the Israelites crossing the
Red Sea. Just as their obstacle was the Red Sea so ours was the stream of
vehicles. Both of us needed to cross or in our case, slip into the stream. Both
of us were running out of time. The Israelites had Pharaoh’s army approaching
them; we had the Clinton turn-off approaching us. When it seemed the
Israelites were to be destroyed by the army and when it seemed we would be
forced to miss our exit, God intervened, just at the appropriate time! The Red Sea opened up for the Israelites to
cross over; a space in front of a semi opened up moments before the turn-off! Awesome!
“God’s timing is always perfect. We, His people, need
to trust Him completely and allow Him to act out His will.”
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