The snow had been falling for hours, late into the evening, and the news reports were riddled with stories of car accidents, closed roads, and events cancelled due to the weather. I turned off the television. Inside, I was struggling with a spiritual storm of my own. I was just lost in it. Ever felt like that? My heart was aching over something I had no power to fix, and I was doubting that God even cared anymore. In fact, I was sure He didn’t care. But in a last ditch effort to ask for mercy, and for God to get me through my inward storm, I got down on my knees, leaned over the couch and pleaded for the Lord to show me a sign that He still cared, and that He would see me through, and lead me to peace in my heart.
Outside, somewhere miles away, my husband was driving home from work in the blizzard. Though he could hardly see out his front window, behind him, he could see headlights of a car following him closely. He slowed down and attempted to wave to the car to go around him, but it kept following him. It followed him for over twelve miles–On the highway, to the exit, to the long, light-less dirt road that connects to the long, light-less dirt road we live on! It kept following him. It followed him into our driveway! Truly, there would really be no reason for anyone in their right mind to follow our car into the middle of Farmville, USA, especially in a blizzard, that late at night!
At just about midnight, I got up from my prayer position, wiped away the tears from my eyes and rested my head on the back of my couch. My husband burst in the door, wind whipping everywhere, and said, “There’s a girl in our driveway, crying her eyes out. I think she’s lost.” I grabbed my coat a
nd boots and walked down our lengthy, snow covered driveway. The young lady rolled down her car window and, through her tears, explained that she was scared because she could not see where she was going through the white-out. She was shaking, partly from the frigid wind, and partly from her panic. She explained that she just followed the first vehicle she found, hoping it would lead her somewhere safe or in the right direction. I invited her in so she could catch her breath and warm up. I found out she was from New York, headed to Michigan, as she attended med school there. I don’t think she realized, she had been completely turned around, to have ended up at our house, in the middle of nowhere. After some time, we decided that she should stay the night and leave in the morning after the plows went through. She settled in on the couch and watched Downton Abbey with us until after 1 am. I gathered some blankets and pillows and showed her to the sofa in the den. Soon, she fell asleep, and rested peacefully enough in this stranger’s house to be able to leave bright and early, with food and coffee in her belly and some new friends in her life. She followed my husband, this time in the safety of clearer, sunny skies, and this time headed in the right direction.
I sat there on the couch that morning, right near the spot I had pleaded to the Lord in, the evening before, and all I could think of was, what if that would have been my child out there in the snowstorm? How grateful I would be for someone to keep my child safe and warm and fed! And remembered that I am never alone. The Lord is with me, no matter the storm, no matter the isolation, no matter the fear I feel. I am safe in Him. And He offers me rest.
Would you share an experience with us about how God cared for you?
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