We were two hours into our drive to deliver Emma to Hanover College for her freshman year. As Sandy, Emma, Emma’s friend and I sat along the side of the busy interstate, trucks blowing by, we prayed and considered what to do. It was a Sunday, so no car rental agencies were open. We were too far from home to impose on friends or family to pick us up. Uber and Lyft would be too expensive. We knew no one at our destination.
Out of ideas, I called 911, explained our situation and asked for advice. The sympathetic dispatcher said a police officer would be there shortly. Five minutes later a young state trooper pulled up behind us – and offered us a ride, not merely to the next exit or to a gas station, but to the college, forty minutes away!
We were stunned by his offer. I still can hardly believe it. On our drive to the college I learned that he is a committed follower of Jesus, a former Marine and a father of three. He works in youth ministry in his church. (Fortunate kids!) When he isn’t patrolling, he works crime scenes as a scuba diver. (I read later that the officer, Chris Lockman, saved a man from drowning last April.) I felt honored to even be with this young man, let alone benefit from his (and his approving supervisor’s) kindness.
So, now we were at the college (Hanover, in southern Indiana). But Emma’s stuff – everything she was taking with her to college – was still in our car. The first person we met within moments of arriving at Hanover was the woman in charge of move-in day. After noting the oddity of our having been delivered by the police and hearing our story, she joyfully offered to let us use her mini-van to retrieve Emma’s belongings. Once again, we were stunned by God’s provision. Sandy and I drove back to the car, moved everything to her van and, after filling her empty tank with gas, returned to Hanover. Mission accomplished. But we still had no way to get home.
On the drive from the car back to Hanover, Sandy and I had prayed about what to do next. We might get a hotel room for the night and rent a car the next morning. We stopped and asked a man whose truck was “For Sale” along the road if he would let us pay him to use it. (“No,” he said politely.) We knew that the parents of Emma’s roommate are from Indianapolis, so we might ask them; but they probably won't have a large enough car. Besides, we were going to arrive back at Hanover well after the “Parents Should Now Leave” time the college had suggested, so they would probably already be gone when we got back to the college.
As we pulled into the parking lot of the dorm, however, I noticed that the roommate’s parents were just pulling out. And they were driving a three-seat Suburban! I flagged them down and sheepishly asked if we could bum a ride to Indy, where (we hoped) we could get a further ride home from Sandy’s sister, who lives half an hour from Indy. They were happy to oblige. It turns out that they are committed followers of Jesus, too. (He wore a T-shirt referencing a verse in Ephesians.)
We were to be dropped off at a gas station along the interstate in Indy. From the car, Sandy texted her sister. She was available to pick us up and take us home! Whew. She arrived at the station about the time we arrived. An hour later - and around the time we would have been home had the car had not broken down - we were finally home.
Do you want to know the most amazing part of the story? Sandy and I felt not the least bit of anxiousness the entire time! Somehow, God had assured us that He would take care of us. We trusted God’s promise, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
Thank you, Jesus, and thank you for all the people You put into place to get us home.
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