A Montana school bus, filled with children returning from Bible Camp, over-corrected twice and then flipped on Hwy 2 by Devon last week. The exact number on board the bus was never given us, but it was about 40. One person broke his/her collar bone, two required minor surgery, and the others received bumps and bruises. Comments to the articles in the Tribune mocked the children going to Church Camp for Biblical teachings, mocked a God that allowed the bus to be in an accident, and one comment thought that God had it made, to cause the accident and then save the people.
We live in a world that does not know God. Jesus told us we would have tribulation in this world:
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
The Lord does not keep us out of the world, but He does keep us close to Him. How many times have we had a close encounter and were told how "lucky" we were? But, what is luck? Wikipedia describes it as:
Luck or fortuity is good or bad fortune in life caused by accident or chance, and attributed by some to reasons of faith or superstition, which happens beyond a person's control.
Does "luck" cover the Hand of God's protection of us? Do we then put His watch over us in the same category as lucky rabbit feet, fairies and happenstance?
I, too, have had close encounters, and there was no "luck" there; it was the Hand of God keeping me.
Fourteen hours on the road is a long time, but I made the trip from Colorado Springs to Montana a number of times, while we lived down there. There was no way to avoid driving in the dark, with those long hours. One dark night, I was cruising down the seemingly endless stretch of Wyoming interstate. It was very late and few cars were on the road. Ahead I saw what looked like brake lights on a car. As I got closer, I realized that it was either pulled over or going very slow. Moving to the passing lane, I kept on driving. It was now obvious the other car was not pulled over but was in the right lane and stopped. As I was about to overtake the other vehicle, my headlights suddenly illuminated a herd of deer passing in front of the other car and across the lane I was driving down.
Stomping on the brakes, my tires screeched on the pavement as I slid next to the other car. Then in an instant I saw the deer in front of me leap to the side. Some to the ditch, others back across to the other side of the road, and I passed by, without incident, as the road opened up before me.
Another time, after my 3 year old daughter had died, I was returning from the graveyard with my then pregnant 17-year old daughter. The road curves and intersects into another road. I did not see the stop sign and went around the curve, without looking for traffic. As I entered the intersection, I didn't see a car approaching directly from one direction and a motorcycle from another. After I was into the curve I saw them on either side of the car and then they became a blur. I have no idea how we all got through that intersection without crashing. I know God's Hand was there, I just don't know how He did it.
Another time I was heading down to Colorado Springs and I underestimated the distance I could go on a tank of gas. I was about 10 miles from the next town. The car began to stall out as I approached an exit. I took the exit and coasted down the off-ramp and parked off the road by the stop sign. There was a club, of some sort, across the secondary road the exit led into; but, it was now very late at night, and the club had long since closed its doors. I fell asleep and sometime later awoke to a bright light shining in my eyes. It was an oilfield worker who had been headed out to check one of the rigs. He said he never stops for cars, but he had passed the car and said something then made him stop and come back. He took me to the next town and bought me some gas, brought me back to the car and put it in my tank. Now I was back on the road, thanks to the kindness of a stranger.
Another time I was heading to Montana from Colorado Springs. It was winter and a storm blew in as I was driving. Neither my heater nor defrosts were working as the frigid night set in. I would travel along and then have to stop and scrape my windshield in order to see. My breath was frosting it up. I kept the windows down a little to help, but it still frosted up. There were no cars on the road, either coming or going. Thankfully! as I was traveling so slow. Then I got out, once again to scrape the windows, and the minute I put my foot on the pavement it flew off from under me. I grabbed the door and gingerly tried again. The roadway was covered in slick ice! Obviously this is why there were no other cars on the road. I continued at an even slower rate, still clearing the windows, but standing on the door panel instead of the roadway. Finally....finally....I got to a town in Montana with a truck stop. I stopped and got gas. A trucker came over and looked at the car and was able to get my heater and defrost working again. I forgot what he said was wrong.
Now, I had to decide whether to spend the night, and I really didn't have money to do that, and it was too cold to sleep in the car, or keep traveling. I didn't want to get back on those icy roads, but if I went slow, I could make a little time. Driving out to the on-ramp, I entered and got up on the interstate. In front of me the road stretched out, dry and inviting! I had come to the end of the ice storm!
Another time I was traveling with some Guard soldiers from another unit in Eastern Montana back to our unit. It was winter, the roads were snow packed and slick. We were coming down the side of a mountain and the road ahead curved. Suddenly our vehicle started into a slide. Then as we got to the curve, the tires caught traction and we continued on safely around the corner.
Another time I was traveling from Colorado Springs to Montana. I had always paid for gas with a check. My light indicator was indicating empty, and I pulled into the nearest town with a gas station, rather than trying to make it to the next truck stop. I went into pay for the gas and they would not take a check. It was now after hours and no banks were open. I didn't have credit cards and I had never heard of a debit card. I went back to the car and opened my purse and was counting out my change on the gas pump. I figured if I could just get a couple of dollars in gas, I could make it to the truck stop. I had like a dollar something. Then a lady walked out of the gas station store and went and over to her big pickup truck. She put her sacks of purchases into her pickup and then came over and gave me a ten dollar bill. She had been in the store and heard my conversation with the clerk. She would not take a check in exchange, just waved to me and said to pass it on someday.
Another time I was traveling from California to Montana with my children. Tim was driving and Huimin was co-piloting. We had taken the road through northern California and on up the coast to Spokane, as the normal route through Wells and Twin Falls was having a blizzard and was not passable. We hit rain and had pretty good roads until we got to northern Washington. We hit a snow storm after we passed Spokane.
I think it was Lookout Pass that we were now coming down. The roads were bad. Suddenly we came upon snowplows reducing our already limited visibility. They were in the driving lane, so we passed, as we passed they covered us with a sludge of snow and mud making the windows impossible to see through. The wipers left tiny streaks Tim could see through. Tim, or Huimin, turned on the windshield washer and it immediately made a sheet of ice across the windshield. Tim instantly opened his window and stuck his head out and drove leaning out the car. We now pass back into the driving lane as we overtook cars inching along in the passing lane. We are traveling at a slow speed of perhaps 25-35, or less, on snowy and icy roads, with cars ahead, cars behind, plows to the side, steep mountainsides on the other side of the guard rail, and snowing conditions with low visibility. Even without the iced up windshields, we were in a very dangerous situation. The defrosts finally cleared the window and Tim could finally drive from the inside again! We got through the pass and then after a small break we continued through the next pass also.
We live in this world and we will face the dangers here. But, God keeps us. He has plans for us and they are plans for our good. As spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah to the people Isreal:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Another time, in 1991, I was returning to our home in the country. It was early in my last pregnancy and I was very sick, sleeping all the time, and had absolutely no energy. I was sure it was from inhaling all the dust from the boards at the old house that I had sanded and planed, and the fumes from the paint remover I used on the old boards covered in lead paint and other types of paints from the early century arsenol of paints available.
The sun was down below the horizon and dusk setting in. The road was dusty and bumpy. I cannot remember if the wind was blowing or not, I am thinking it was. I came around the corner, to the last leg of the trip before getting home, and there was in front of me a huge swirling tunnel made of dust. It was quite long - although I don't know how long, perhaps 100 feet. I drove through it. When I got home I started coughing and coughed up bitter tasting stuff from my lungs for quite some time. After that I started feeling better, my energy came back and soon I was back to getting things done. My baby was later born with a syndrome, and I am sure it was from the toxic build-up in my lungs, and my degraded health, during her development. I believe the clearing out of my lungs saved her life.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
God is good! He keeps us and we are His. What greater pleasure is there than to know that God loves you!
