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The Fingerprint of God on My Travels June 8, 2009 My sister Michelle
was going to drive her two boys to my mom's house last weekend,
so I decided to go along with her for the 350-mile drive from Georgia
to North Carolina. My sister decided to take her husband's car,
which is older than hers but more roomy. They swung by my house
Friday afternoon and we headed out. My sister had been driving for
about a half an hour when we stopped at McDonalds for a quick bite;
then I took over behind the wheel. We were doing
well as we got through the congestion of Atlanta, and once we were
on I-85, it looked like clear sailing. The traffic was heavy, but
moving at a nice click when all of a sudden we had to hit the brakes.
Sure enough, there was an accident and we had to creep along until
traffic was back to speed. However, after a few miles traffic came
to a halt again as there was another accident. We passed the wreck
after a short period of time and were back on our way. We got up
the road a click and stopped at a gas station for a quick fill up.
My sister asked me if I wanted her to drive and I said no, that I would continue to drive. We got on I-85 again and were about 12 miles from South Carolina when I noticed the brake light on the dashboard was lit. I pushed down on the brakes and they went to the floor. We were going about 70 mph and I knew things were not good. I pushed down on the emergency brakes, but they were useless.
I managed to
get the car to the right hand lane and let off the accelerator and
coasted up to the off ramp. The upgrade on the ramp was enough to
slow us down before the stop sign, and I was able to get us to a
gas station that was at the corner of the off ramp. I opened the
hood and there was no brake fluid in the plastic tank. I ran over
to the station and bought some and poured it in. My sister pushed
the brake pedal and said, “Okay, they are fine,” so I hopped back
in the car. I put it in reverse and stepped on the brakes and they
went to the floor. I knew we were in a fix and going to be stranded.
It was now past
8 p.m. on a Friday night, and there were no repair shops open. We
slowly made our way to a hotel and got a room for the night. I told
my sister to get the luggage while her oldest son Andrew and I walked
to the gas station to get more brake fluid. I told Andrew as we
walked that there was a lot of good that happened in our dilemma.
We could have been easily killed or seriously hurt had the brakes
gone out just a little before they did when traffic came to a quick
stop. I told him that God had His hand upon us and we needed to
be thankful. I searched the GPS for the nearest Ford dealer and we planned to get up early and be there Saturday morning before they opened. We woke up and got ready and then we prayed, “Father, we thank you for Your goodness and we ask for Your favor to be upon us. Please help us get to the dealership safely and that we can get the car in today.” I was the first one lined up to get into the service area, and when they opened the garage door, we slowly drove in. I told the service manager our problem and he said he could get it in today, but it would take awhile. There were several other people also waiting and they were only open 1/2 a day on Saturday.
It only took
five minutes for them to have the car on the lift. My sister noticed
three mechanics, all looking at the underneath of the car. The service
manager came into the waiting room and told me he needed to show
me something and it was not good. The car was completely corroded
with rust underneath from all the salt from the 14 winters in Michigan.
He told me they were going to have to order new brake lines because
they were completely corroded and the parts would not be in until
Tuesday. We were now stuck and I knew it. The Hertz rental center
in front of the dealership was closed. The manager told me he would
call the Enterprise car rental in the next town because they would
pick us up. I started following
him back to the office when he turned to me and said, “I am going
to do something for you.” He reached up to the board and gave me
the keys to one of the cars from his lot and said, “I hate to see
you guys stranded. Take this car and bring it back when your car
is repaired.” He did not ask for my driver's license or proof of
insurance or anything. We drove out of the lot in a nice, fully
loaded car in less than an hour. God is so good.
He purposed in my heart for me to go with my sister and that I would
be driving. He held those corroded lines together each time we had
to brake quickly until we got into the clear and were able to pull
off I-85 safely. As Paul reminded, “And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Do things look
bad for you at the moment? Hold on and know the fingerprints of
God are upon your situation and He will work it all out for you.
He is the author and finisher of our faith and He is able to do
able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. © 2009, Randy
Bailey ---------- Randy Bailey has been writing spiritual poems/devotions for the past eight years. Randy has one wife and three sons. Richard, Ryan, and Rodney are grown and on their own while Randy and Peggy live in Georgia. Randy and Peggy attend the First United Pentecostal Church of Warner Robins. Randy has recently had his book Spiritual Snacks published, and it is available at www.Amazon.com (plug). Randy loves to throw the seed through his writings. |
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