Testimonies

Sometimes life can be pretty discouraging and during these times I wonder, like David, if God hears me or even cares about me.

During one of these times, I remembered an incident that happened to me a few years ago.

I was living in Collegedale, Tennessee, at the time and was summons by the Ontario Law Society to attend a disciplinary hearing for a lawyer I had previously worked with in Toronto, Ontario. I am not a very good long distant driver so I decided to break the trip up into two days, this way I would stop in South Bend, Indiana, and visit with some friends for a few hours, sleep over and head to Toronto, Ontario the next day.

Tuesday night before I was leaving, I looked at the map to plan the route I was going to take. Now I am fairly gifted in the sense if I look at the directions once I do not have to look at the map again. The route is fixed in my memory. I discussed the route with one of my friends in Indiana, who asked me to pick up something for her from Atlanta, Georgia. As Atlanta was only two hours away I agreed, especially as I had never been to Atlanta. We agreed if I left Collegedale, Tennessee at 5:00 a.m., travel along the I-75 I would arrive in Atlanta for 7:00 a.m., pick up the item and leave Atlanta roughly around 8:00 a.m. arriving in South Bend around  6:00-6:30 p.m., giving me enough time to visit and rest. I folded the page with the directions to Atlanta, closed the Atlas and went to bed.

Wednesday morning I readied myself to leave. After packing and praying, something said to me look at the map again to make sure you have the directions firmly in your brain. After all, I had never done this trip before. I took out the Road Atlas, sat down and looked for the page I had folded in the Atlas. I could not find the page.   Slowly I went through the Atlas, page by page, I still could not find the page. I was getting frustrated now, time was going, I needed to find the folded page and get on the road. I wet my fingers and turned each page carefully in the Atlas, I still could not find the folded page. How could this be? I know I folded the page, I marked the page now I am going to have to change my plans, forget Atlanta, and go through Nashville to get to South Bend.

Feeling very frustrated and disappointed and now 30 minutes late, I threw the Atlas in my car and started driving to Nashville and prayed for travelling mercies. About 10 minutes later I turned on my car radio just in time to hear the announcer say that dense fog, out of no where, was on the I-75 causing a major pile up. There were many serious injuries. A cold chill ran through my body, if I have found the page in the Atlas, left at 5:00 p.m., I would have been in that accident, if I had left on time. I pulled over to take in the reality of the situation. As I pulled over my cell phone rang, it was my friend, and she had turned on the radio and heard the same news.   “Where are you?” she cried. I told her what happened and the missing page in the Atlas, would you believe, as I was speaking to her and waiving the Atlas in my hand it fell opened to the page I had folded. The folded page was there all the time, how did I not see it?

We both said this was nothing but the Lord sparing my life and preventing me from being in a major pile up on the I-75.

In times of discouragement, incidents like these remind me that God cares very much for me and He most certainly holds me in the palm of His hand.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5,6.