A Thanksgiving Adventure
This past Thanksgiving became an adventure on Sunday afternoon coming home from visiting our relatives. The trip normally takes us 4.5 hours but this time it took us 8 hours.
Sunday morning I went to church and had a great time of worshipping and praising God. This church was located near where my relatives live. I felt really good coming out of church on Sunday. After church I went to my relative's house and started packing for our trip home. It was about 2:30pm when we left to go home.
As we were driving, I did see some light snow flurries but the roads seemed to be okay to drive on. Into an hour or so of driving, the traffic came to a stop and started crawling at a very slow pace. After about 40 minutes of this, and me getting very irritated, I drove off on an exit and tried to find a road that would parallel the highway. We ventured off the expressway for awhile and then decided to get back on the interstate only to find out that the traffic was still creeping. I was getting a bit more frustrated and irritated. The traffic finally cleared and we were finally able to drive at normal highway speed. So we are cruising nicely for about 20 minutes when the traffic came to a complete dead stop again. This time the traffic was moving even slower than it was before. Okay, I was just in church praising God this morning and I'm practically beyond my patience at this point. We had a long way to go and didn't get very far in terms of mileage. The nearest exit was maybe 2 miles up and the traffic was barely moving at 5 miles an hour with long stops in between. So what seemed like a very long time, we got to the exit, got off and drove into a gas station. It was around 5:00 - 5:30pm. We got gas, got a map, and got some snacks. We were only 60 - 70 miles into our trip at this point. We heard from people at the gas station that were accidents some 70 miles up the road on the interstate. We looked at the map and mapped out back roads that went parallel to the interstate. By this time it was very dark and cloudy with snow continuing to fall. Luckily the snow wasn't sticking. We were now cruising nicely on this back road without all the congestion. We connected to another road that became very twisty and windy. The streets were not lit and the small towns that we passed didn't seem to have any lights on in their home. Gas stations were no where to be seen. If they were, their lights were off.
So after about an hour or so on this twisty/windy road my 4 year old son decides to throw up all over himself. Oh #@@! I thought to myself. My 14 year old son and 9 year old daughter were making all the eeeewww noises and holding their noses. My wife is telling me to pull of. I'm on this twisty winding road. It's very dark. Snow is coming down harder and I can't see driveways or any place to pull over. I wasn't going to pull over on the shoulder because it would have been too dangerous. So I kept driving until I could find something. About 15 minutes later I see a sign that says there is a town 1 mile up the road. So I thought maybe there might be a gas station there. We get to this town and sure enough no gas station. We pulled into a big parking by the post office lot to stop. We all got out of the car and tried to clean up my 4 year old and of course we don't have any napkins, wetwipes, tissues or anything to clean him up with. Yuck!!!. I then look up the road and noticed that there is a church up the road that we passed with its lights on. It seemed to be the only building around that had its lights on. I told my wife, let's drive there and see if it's open. We drove to the church and parked in the parking lot. I went up to the door and was glad that it was open. I walked in and I was glad a service was not in session because the entrance leads right into the middle of the sanctuary. I heard people talking in the back room and then went in and introduced myself. I mentioned that we have been driving a long time and my 4 year old threw up and asked if we can use their washroom. The pastor and a few other people there were having a prayer session and welcomed us in. They gave us rags, napkins and whatever we needed to clean up the car and my 4 year old son. So our entire family came in and sat down in one of the pews while my wife went to clean up my 4 year old son. We had a very nice conversation with the people there getting to know one another. The pastor asked my kids about things they like to do and where we went to church and etc.. We connected. After my wife came out of the washroom with my son, the Pastor asked me if he could pray for us and anoint our heads with oil for a safe journey home. I said to myself "Wow. This is too God!!" I told him that I would appreciate that very much. So he prayed for us each individually and while praying he anointed each of us with oil. Afterwards our family prayed for them and their church. It was a great time of prayer and fellowship. We hugged and thanked them and continued our journey back to our home. We arrived home at 10:30pm very tired.
When I ponder this experience, it's always to see things after rather than during. Was it God's plan to meet with wonderful folks at this church? If it was then I am thankful that God had his way with me even when I was irritated and frustrated and wanted to possibly go another way. If it wasn't God's plan then I am thankful that God provided this wonderful oasis in the midst of frustration, irritation, and the other trials of that evening. Being that it was thanksgiving, I am thankful for this church, the fellowship and God's provision and comfort.
Oh, did I mention that this small church that sits on a twisty/windy road that we ran into,(with a 4 year old with throw up on him), on a dark, cloudy, snowy night that seemed to be the only place around that had its lights on is called Beacon Baptist Church!!
Sunday morning I went to church and had a great time of worshipping and praising God. This church was located near where my relatives live. I felt really good coming out of church on Sunday. After church I went to my relative's house and started packing for our trip home. It was about 2:30pm when we left to go home.
As we were driving, I did see some light snow flurries but the roads seemed to be okay to drive on. Into an hour or so of driving, the traffic came to a stop and started crawling at a very slow pace. After about 40 minutes of this, and me getting very irritated, I drove off on an exit and tried to find a road that would parallel the highway. We ventured off the expressway for awhile and then decided to get back on the interstate only to find out that the traffic was still creeping. I was getting a bit more frustrated and irritated. The traffic finally cleared and we were finally able to drive at normal highway speed. So we are cruising nicely for about 20 minutes when the traffic came to a complete dead stop again. This time the traffic was moving even slower than it was before. Okay, I was just in church praising God this morning and I'm practically beyond my patience at this point. We had a long way to go and didn't get very far in terms of mileage. The nearest exit was maybe 2 miles up and the traffic was barely moving at 5 miles an hour with long stops in between. So what seemed like a very long time, we got to the exit, got off and drove into a gas station. It was around 5:00 - 5:30pm. We got gas, got a map, and got some snacks. We were only 60 - 70 miles into our trip at this point. We heard from people at the gas station that were accidents some 70 miles up the road on the interstate. We looked at the map and mapped out back roads that went parallel to the interstate. By this time it was very dark and cloudy with snow continuing to fall. Luckily the snow wasn't sticking. We were now cruising nicely on this back road without all the congestion. We connected to another road that became very twisty and windy. The streets were not lit and the small towns that we passed didn't seem to have any lights on in their home. Gas stations were no where to be seen. If they were, their lights were off.
So after about an hour or so on this twisty/windy road my 4 year old son decides to throw up all over himself. Oh #@@! I thought to myself. My 14 year old son and 9 year old daughter were making all the eeeewww noises and holding their noses. My wife is telling me to pull of. I'm on this twisty winding road. It's very dark. Snow is coming down harder and I can't see driveways or any place to pull over. I wasn't going to pull over on the shoulder because it would have been too dangerous. So I kept driving until I could find something. About 15 minutes later I see a sign that says there is a town 1 mile up the road. So I thought maybe there might be a gas station there. We get to this town and sure enough no gas station. We pulled into a big parking by the post office lot to stop. We all got out of the car and tried to clean up my 4 year old and of course we don't have any napkins, wetwipes, tissues or anything to clean him up with. Yuck!!!. I then look up the road and noticed that there is a church up the road that we passed with its lights on. It seemed to be the only building around that had its lights on. I told my wife, let's drive there and see if it's open. We drove to the church and parked in the parking lot. I went up to the door and was glad that it was open. I walked in and I was glad a service was not in session because the entrance leads right into the middle of the sanctuary. I heard people talking in the back room and then went in and introduced myself. I mentioned that we have been driving a long time and my 4 year old threw up and asked if we can use their washroom. The pastor and a few other people there were having a prayer session and welcomed us in. They gave us rags, napkins and whatever we needed to clean up the car and my 4 year old son. So our entire family came in and sat down in one of the pews while my wife went to clean up my 4 year old son. We had a very nice conversation with the people there getting to know one another. The pastor asked my kids about things they like to do and where we went to church and etc.. We connected. After my wife came out of the washroom with my son, the Pastor asked me if he could pray for us and anoint our heads with oil for a safe journey home. I said to myself "Wow. This is too God!!" I told him that I would appreciate that very much. So he prayed for us each individually and while praying he anointed each of us with oil. Afterwards our family prayed for them and their church. It was a great time of prayer and fellowship. We hugged and thanked them and continued our journey back to our home. We arrived home at 10:30pm very tired.
When I ponder this experience, it's always to see things after rather than during. Was it God's plan to meet with wonderful folks at this church? If it was then I am thankful that God had his way with me even when I was irritated and frustrated and wanted to possibly go another way. If it wasn't God's plan then I am thankful that God provided this wonderful oasis in the midst of frustration, irritation, and the other trials of that evening. Being that it was thanksgiving, I am thankful for this church, the fellowship and God's provision and comfort.
Oh, did I mention that this small church that sits on a twisty/windy road that we ran into,(with a 4 year old with throw up on him), on a dark, cloudy, snowy night that seemed to be the only place around that had its lights on is called Beacon Baptist Church!!
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