It had been a great ASI Ministry Convention in Orlando. We had finished taking down our booth, carrying everything back to the hotel room.
In the morning, my husband and I would fly back to Omaha as we had planned. It was very late and conversations with our son led us deep into the middle of the night. I then realized that there was no way I was going to let him, Rob, drive 830 miles back to eastern Kentucky to Red River Outpost by himself. I was convinced that it was my job to go with him and keep him awake. You know how mothers can be.
So, much to my husband’s amazement, I crawled into my son’s Metro Geo and tried to find a spot to cram my two suitcases. He already had his suitcase, camping gear, two coolers of food, purchases from ASI, and tools in case a repair was needed. Our seats were pushed forward as far as they would go. Needless to say, it was going to be an interesting trip. And, oh, did I mention – no air conditioning. But I was sure it was my motherly duty to accompany him on this “adventure.”
We headed out Sunday morning and drove up through Florida and then into Georgia. I had never seen this country before except from the window of an airplane. There is no such thing as a palm tree in Nebraska! As I promised, when Rob stated that he was feeling sleepy, we sang hymns, read from Christ Object’s Lessons, talked about everything past, present, and future, and made needed pit stops. He refused to let me do any of the driving as the car rattled when it was pushed to its limit. It was the second week in August and very hot. But with the windows open and managing a top speed of 65 mph, it was bearable. I just forgot the long sleeve shirt the first day and my right arm got toasted as it hung out the window.
We drove all the way up Georgia to the Tennessee state line and were able to spend the night at Wildwood Lifestyle Center. I had always heard about Wildwood but never had the opportunity to visit. We spent the night in one of the old girls’ dorms. In the morning, Bill, a guy from the farm, gave us an extensive tour of the grounds. We were even able to go up the mountain to see where Pastor W. D. Frazee had lived – the founder of Wildwood. Of course, Rob, being the farm manager at Red River, was very interested in all the affairs of their farm. It was early afternoon before we were on the road again.
The second day of travel was pretty uneventful. After traveling through Chattanooga, TN, we would only have one other big city to drive through until we got to Stanton, KY. That city was Knoxville. When traveling, I normally let my husband drive through the large cities and over the suspension bridges. But being in a really small car made me exceptionally anxious. I just closed my eyes and prayed that Jesus would take control of the wheel and direct Rob when to step on the gas and when to step on the brake. We found ourselves in the wrong lane headed to Knoxville instead of Lexington. Rob glanced up and nodded to the semi driver that we needed to get over. He thought he had given him the okay to merge. All of a sudden we felt a huge crash and a loud WHAM. I looked at Rob and exclaimed, “What was that?” My first impression was that one of the wheels had come apart from the car. He said, “I think we were just rear ended by a semi!” The semi pushed us for a good 30-40 feet. The entire car was vibrating and Rob was trying to steer it over to the side. We were able to pull over as did the semi driver. We got out accessing the damage and finding that we were okay and that there was only a small dent in the hatch. The car was still drivable and the trunk still opened and closed! A miracle! There was a large grille guard on the front of the truck. I believe this help spread the impact. The semi truck driver claimed that he never saw us. His cab was so high and our car was so small.
This event definitely put us way behind in our travel time but we didn’t care. Still shaking a bit, we waited on the side of the road for the police to come and filed the report. We were both in unbelief that we were not killed, that we were not sandwiched between the semi and the car in front of us, that we were not headed for the hospital, and that our vehicle was not completely damaged. I mean how could we have possibly survived without basically a scratch in a wrestling match between a 1.3 liter Geo Metro and a semi truck pulling a tanker? We praised God for His protective powers and His love for us as we were on road again to finish our trip.
There are several spiritual lessons I learned from this experience:
We need to listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and be spontaneous with our plans, especially when it means helping someone. I am so glad that I was impressed to go with my son and keep him awake. What might have happened if he had fallen asleep at the wheel? It was important that I was with Rob when this accident occurred and that I was at his side to pray with him and discuss all the important insurance matters together. “But the Lord is faithful who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3
That the Lord will keep us safe when we keep our eyes on Him. Just before this happened, I was in prayer that the Lord would protect and guide us through the interstate traffic. God led me to do this ahead of time. He knew what was going to happen. “The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes.” Deuteronomy 1:30
When we care to look out for others, God is there looking out for us. “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” Psalm 3:3
When danger seems imminent, God is our Protector! “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
That miracles still happened in this day and age for we serve the God of miracles!
Have you found yourself rear-ended by events in life? As we navigate our ways in the prophetic end times, we will find ourselves in unexpected, perilous situations. Satan like a roaring lion seeks to devour us. He is barreling down on us wanting to completely annihilate us. We need to remember:
“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history.” GCDB February 20, 1899, par.16.
This memory of how the Lord saved us on that interstate in Knoxville will be forever implanted in my mind. HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE!!!
I finished my trip by flying back to Omaha from Lexington on Wednesday. I was grateful to be home safely and again praised God for His protection and love.
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Karen M. Phillips is happily remarried to her husband, John, and enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. She is a Human Resources Manager, an ASI Mid-America Officer, and a Bible teacher. Together they support their world-wide ministry – HeReturns. She writes from Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
