Do you ever get that feeling that something is wrong, but you don't know what? When you go to your car and your heart starts beating really fast and you question if grabbing that cookie before walking out the door has given you a sugar rush or if something that you ate for lunch didn't sit well with you? How about you are driving to drop something off, some distance from home, and right before you get there, your phone rings and you don't have your glasses on to see that it is your Mom calling, so you answer it anyway, and when she asks "Are you tied up right now?" and you respond, "Well that wouldn't be good since I'm driving" and you pull over to chat, even though sitting at home would be more comfortable, but it's your Mom, so you sit in the car and chat for almost an hour before you put the phone on speaker and drive to where you are going? How about you are further delayed by a call from your husband, and then when you finally get back on the road to head home, you make a right turn, instead of a left, and end up going through McDonald's drive thru for a Diet Coke…still thinking that you will get home in enough time to make the cookie dough before your youngest calls for a ride home from school? Okay, that was my morning/early afternoon. The funny (okay, not funny) thing is that on my way to the freeway to go home, that feeling started coming back again and I started thinking…"do I need to go visit Diane?"…well, yes, but that wasn't it. "Do I need to pull over and wait?", no that wasn't it. But as soon as I got on the freeway, traffic came to a stop.
It took me almost 25 minutes to get 2 exits ahead where I could take a surface road to the other freeway that goes to my house. When I got off the freeway, I turned on the radio and found out that there had been an accident on the same freeway that I was headed home on, at 12:30pm – six minutes after speaking to my husband. Normally, if I didn't stop for a drink and had gotten right on the freeway after talking to Scott, it would have taken me about 5 or 6 minutes to get to the part of the freeway where the accident had happened. I didn't know why, but I knew…something.
I guess the challenge is to learn to read feelings and understand promptings. It's like the boy Samuel in the temple: when he hears a voice calling his name, he assumes that it is Eli…but it wasn't. Twice Samuel hears his name called, he goes to respond to Eli and Eli tells him that he didn't call him and to go back and lie down. On the third time Samuel hears his name and goes to Eli, Eli perceives that it is the Lord calling him and he tells him that if he hears his name again that he should say, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." (1 Samuel 3:9)
I don't know that anything would have happened to me. But I have to put all the elements of the day together and see the Lord's hand in it.
In Psalms 40:11 David pleads…
Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let they lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
I am grateful for how bountifully Heavenly Father blesses and watches over me.
Tags: Tender mercies
Praise God! I had the same thing happen to me returning to St Louis from Kansas City. I was traveling with my 5 year old daughter. For no reason at all I got off at an exit that I would not normally get off. It didn’t look like there was any businesses just a rural area. My daughter laughed and said ‘Oh Mommy do you have to go to the bathroom again.” I told her no I guess we are taking a little adventure. The sign mentioned a general store just a couple of miles down the road so I turned to find the general store. We took a few minutes inside and bought a snack and it turned out to be a very nice place and were happy we came to visit them.
When we got back on the interstate the traffic was backed up. It took a very long time to get through to open road again. When we did get to where the accident was I started to Praise God for my little side trip. I had been traveling near a semi truck for several miles and that truck had been involved in the accident along with several cars that must of been near the truck when the crash happened.
I thank God every time I remember our trip. We could of been in the accident that day and changed our lives forever. Now if I ever get delayed or turn at the wrong street I just Praise God for He sees the big picture and I trust Him to keep me and my family safe.
I do believe that the key is to listen when we get those promptings and not question. Sometimes we over analyze, hestitate and opportunities are lost.
A few years ago, I was picking up Little Caesar’s pizza for my family. As my son and I pulled into the parking lot, we saw what looked like a homeless gentleman going through the trash, pulling out someone’s unfinished slice of pizza. When we went in, I got an extra one for him. By the time I came out, he was gone. We drove around for a few minutes trying to find him, but he had disappeared into the night. My heart was in the right place, but I couldn’t follow through. Now I would ask him to wait and ask him which he would prefer…pepperoni or cheese. An individual opportunity lost was a lesson learned for the future.
The lesson of the good Samaratan comes to mind. The opportunity for service is everywhere around us and that blessing of safety just reminded me that I am always in God’s debt. You certainly had one of those moments with your daughter.