|
Sleeping Driver |
 When
my four children children were very small, I decided to drive down to see
my sister. She arranged for me to have a program in her church telling
about my recent Russia child evangelism trip where 2,000 young people
came. It was my first trip out after my dream of seeing thousands waiting
to hear the gospel. I loved to share all the miracles of that trip. The
journey by car from Portland, Oregon to Redding, California took me two
good long days. I closed my office and took a long week end heading down
to be with my sis. I stayed over in Salem, Oregon to meet with friends.
The children did not settle down in the motel and kept me awake most of
the night. I dreaded the drive for I fall asleep easy. Four children can
be exhausting especially after no sleep. My husband was working and could
not go along. |
| The day of driving went fine until afternoon when all
the children fell asleep. I began to get drowsy. How I worked to stay
awake. I tried everything. I stopped the car did some exercises and that
helped for thirty minutes. I drank cold water and woke the children asking
them to make noise and talk to me. I made sure they were all securely
fastened in their car seats. I was afraid to pull over and sleep. If I did
that, the children were unguarded and in danger of strangers doing us
harm. Kidnapping is such a real danger. Rest stops are not safe.
I was in trouble. I have always fallen asleep easy in the car when others are driving. I had the kids scream and make surprise noises to startle me. Finally they all settled back for a good nap and so did I. |
 I
awoke with the sound of metal scraping and a bumpy ride. I saw the guard
rail and screamed for God to help. In that instant, I was thrown back in
my lane going the right direction. My knees began to shake as the
epinephrine flooded me. I pulled over shaking and checked out the damage.
Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that are with young. |
For another prayer answer story click here: God answers teenager prayer for lost contact
It was a
minimal fender dent and missing park light. My little Kyle said he had a
bump on his head. No one was really hurt. I looked over the cliff. I
counted the seconds it would have taken if I had fallen asleep just a bit
later where there was no guard rail. It was about 5 seconds. I looked
thousands of feet down into a ravine where we could have have met our
death.
I looked up to heaven and knew WHO had set the car back on course. I
am so thankful for His care over us. He gently leads those who are with
young. He knows the challenges mothers have. He knows what parents face
every day. He knows when we are too weak to carry on. He knows how
terrified the children feel who trust their lives in the hands of their
parents. They are helpless. He never leaves or forsakes His people
who love and serve HIM.