Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Sentimental Journey

Last week I wrote about the little trip I took with my mother to the small town where I was born.  It was a wonderful trip, almost trouble free.  There was one little spot where things were just a tad rocky.  When one is traveling with a 90 year old the rocky part is of great cause for concern, because 90 year olds are fragile.

My mom has been a Protestant her whole life.  I was raised in a "mixed" marriage.  My mom's faith and mine has always been a little different.  She tends to believe that God is in Heaven and people are on earth and it is up to people to do the work of Christ on earth.  She doesn't really believe in miracles or even asking for things in prayer. I do and have always believed that God in His great love for us provides help and love throughout our lives.

Due to some poor planning and inadequate map reading, we ended up in an area of north western Illinois at about 4pm on Monday that had only villages and very small towns. When I looked at the map and saw where we were, I knew we were in trouble.  It was unlikely that these tiny places could support motels.  I prayed out loud, "Lord, when You created the universe and set everything in motion, You knew we were going to end up here in this time and space on this day. In Your great love for us, You know that we need a place to stay or else I need to be able to drive 50 miles to the next town. Help us, Lord."  My mom was sure that the nearby little town of Aledo would have a motel because it was the county seat.  But Aledo has a population of less than 4,000 people.  When we got there and drove the main streets we could not see a motel.

I was getting tired because I had driven the entire day, but even more so, my 90 year old mother was tired from all the riding and talking we had done.  I spotted a McDs and we stopped to get something to drink.  As we started to leave I noticed the free WiFi sign on the door.  I went out to the car, got my laptop, looked up motels in Aledo, found the name of the only one and called on my cell phone for directions.  We were saved.

My mom would tend to credit modern computers and cell phones for our rescue.  But, I know that God knew what we would need before the dawn of time.  I give Him praise and thanksgiving for the help He provided in His great love.

5 comments:

  1. Mary, I believe as you do, that God is with us and ready to help us in our time in place and because he is omnipotent and all-knowing knew in advance when we would ask him for help. I have had times at work that I have told others and given thanks because I attributed the success to God. I even had a problem with our printer in the middle of the night and my daughter needed to get a paper out the next day. After trying to get little sliver after little sliver of the jam out, I finally prayed and the last little sliver miraculously was now reachable by my unbent paperclip and hadn't been before. Maybe it is a small thing but I was really tired and it was after 2 in the morning on a school, work day, and that is exactly how I prayed. "Jesus, I know you are here with me, and I know you can help me. Please help me fix this so I can get some sleep and not be crabby tomorrow.

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  2. Hi Mary,
    I'm with you on this one! I believe God cares about even the most minute details of our life. He loves us and probably wishes everyone would turn to Him and trust Him with their lives, and yes, even the small things :)

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  3. Hi Mary, I think it was the nudging of the Holy Spirit for you to see the WiFi sign on the door and to have your laptop with you! I do believe God is always willing to help us and pour out His blessings on us, if only we'd ask!

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  4. I totally agreed that it was the leading of the Holy Spirit to see the WiFi sign on the door. When I saw it, I knew what to do. I recognized an answer to prayer.

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  5. I love this.
    The whole post.
    You and your mum traveling together.
    You being a shining, quiet example for her...in her golden years.
    And GOD, providing tangible help because you asked w/confidence.
    Thanks for sharing.

    This reminds me, too, of Mother Angelica, who once said that every night, on her way upstairs to her room, she says out loud, "Well, I'm going to bed now Lord...good night" and then she said, "I know He knows that already...but I think He still likes it when I tell Him, anyway".

    Have a great day, Mary!

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