My 9-hour trip from Chicago to Burton, WV, turned into a three-day ordeal. I intented to make the trip on Thursday, but partly because of the weather in the east, I decided to wait until Friday. I made it all the way to Springfield, OH, but then the snow began to fall and the winds picked up. The interstate got really backed up, so I decided to take a parallel highway.
So… I was on the phone talking to a friend (which I shouldn’t have been doing in such conditions), and suddenly I noticed that the car in front of me was stopped. They had stopped because of a fender bender in front of them. It quickly became apparent that I was about to be involved in the second one. I mashed on my brakes to keep from hitting the stopped car, but the ice turned my wheels into skis. Somehow, the Lord gave me the presence of mind to see that my only way out was to turn off the road. I cranked the steering wheel and went over the curb into a grassy area in front of a Taco Bell. Amazingly, I missed the car’s backend completely. Praise God!
I had difficulty getting back out onto the road because of the curb, but the Lord provided two men who helped me out. I decided it was time to find a hotel. Can’t understand why I started to have that thought! I ended up driving for another hour, though, because I wanted to find a chain hotel, and I wanted to keep going east. I stopped at around 8pm. If I would have kept going, I would have had to drive on unplowed, country roads in WV in the dark. Not a good situation! Thankfully, I made it safely on Saturday, though just after the snow plows and just before another snow fall came.
The Lord also might be providing some support for me. I had a good meeting at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Clarksburg, WV. They are seriously considering supporting me. I also set up 3 meetings today in western PA. The meetings are not until April of 2011, but it’s very encouraging to get 3 meetings set up in one day. I am usually very encouraged if I can get just one.
Another provision… The Lord has been gracious to me in providing temporary housing while I’ve been in Grand Rapids. Since I went up there in August 2007, I’ve been staying mostly with one family, but occasionally I have had to transfer to a different place for various reasons. But finally, I will have a stable place that I can always return to. It will also be a central location where I can store the rest of my books and files that have been down in Greenville. I will be renting a basement apartment in an elderly lady’s condo. The Lord worked it out that my monthly payments will be significantly lower than anything else I could have found in Grand Rapids. Plus, I will have the security of knowing that my stuff will be safe when I leave for months at a time, because my landlady will be upstairs during that time. The condo is within walking distance of a local library, so I can use that for internet access. And I can enjoy the lake behind me if I want to go for a swim or skate around in the winter. I’m really looking forward to moving in at the end of this month!
Praise the Lord for answering prayers for protection and provision! Please keep praying!
