A Trip Like No Other...On Second Thought

Here are some phrases that come to mind: “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...” “What a long, strange trip it’s been...” “On a dark, desert highway, cool wind in my hair...” Okay, okay, it wasn’t dark; it wasn’t the desert, and the cool wind was still outside-but it was slowly creeping in. Let me start at the beginning... Our plan was to leave Richmond mid-afternoon and head to Williamsburg for the rest of the week. Things started out really well; everyone was excited to go, Eliana fell asleep before we even left the driveway, and we were leaving at exactly the time we had hoped to leave in order to get to our place and unpack before dark. We stopped to get gas...and it seems like the whole country is seeing the benefit of dropping plummeting gas prices. So after we filled up the car, we hit the road. Almost halfway to Williamsburg, Mom (a.k.a. leadfoot) gave it some gas in order to get in the left lane to pass someone. Much to her surprise, as soon as she got over she noticed the gas gauge slowly moving down. She said,“I’m losing power.” I said,“What? What do you mean, you’re losing power?” She quickly made it over to the right hand shoulder of the highway (which is amazing because of the steady flow of traffic we had been seeing). As soon as she pulled out of the driving lane the car cut off. We looked at each other, exchanging a silent,“Weird...” And so we sat for a minute watching the cars speeding by. And the scenery not speeding by. It began to get dark, and by that time we had called my dad and he headed our way in order to pick us up in the church van and get us on to Williamsburg. He helped my mom move their van further off the road first (another miracle). In the end, we arrived safe and sound and got unloaded and semi-settled that first night. This is just one example of many, many, many of how you can make a great plan, and even think it’s going well...but, well, sometimes that guy Murphy comes along. People-meet Murphy; Murphy-meet people...oh, you are already acquainted? That’s what I keep hearing! The truth is, even though it was a crazy trip, God did watch over us while we were on the highway. And I’m always grateful for His watchful eye. In so many ways, I take for granted His care. I hope that things like this can help me remember that we are in His hands, no matter what.