Sunday, February 28, 2010

Answered

I woke up at 4:30 to give Spencer his once-nightly feeding (very nice baby). As I had suspected it would, this feeding perfectly coincided with when Greg had to wake up to get ready for his 4 hour drive to Warsaw for a church correlation meeting.

As I sat in bed nursing the baby, listening to the water run as Greg showered in the bathroom next door I started thinking my usual thoughts when he has a lot of driving to do on not enough sleep: "I hope he'll stay awake okay. I hope he'll pull over for a nap if he gets tired." etc. etc.

From there I started thinking about what if something happened to him. Just technical, unemotional things like how would the police know to contact us. What is the protocol. I began to feel that this was a kind of dangerous trip. Greg does tons of driving and is very responsible about being smart and not driving when he's tired, but I felt rather worried.

I decided to stop myself from worrying and pray. I prayed earnestly, certainly more sincerely than I ever have about safety during travel. I reflected on how I need to always be doing my best to be worthy of important blessings I may need to ask for, in order to have the confidence and faith to have my prayers answered.

Greg came into the darkened room, kissed me and the baby good-bye and headed off.

Four hours later he called. He had arrived at the chapel safe and sound. Prayer answered. Then he explained exactly how that prayer (which he wasn't aware I had offered) had been answered.

At one point during the drive Greg's mind wandered, causing him to miss his turn off. Fortunately he noticed it right away and got back on track, losing only a minute or two. Later on in the trip his own premonition from reflections he'd had earlier in the drive lead him to recognize the men on the side of the road waving through the thick fog for what it was: a warning to slow down because of an accident ahead. The road was extremely slippery and visibility was very poor but he was able to stop within inches (or possibly inch) of the car in front of him, which had stopped right behind an overturned car in the road. That accident had happened approximately one or two minutes before he got there.

Heavenly Father loves me, and I love him, too.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoa. Awesome. Prayer has been working for me lately, too, but not with this kind of life-affirming proof. I'm so happy you and your husband are IN TUNE and that Greg was unharmed. Beautiful!

(Oh, and Emma got the email! Thank you, thank you! She's going to write to Evie as soon as she gets home from church this afternoon!)

Anonymous said...

Tender mercies, indeed! I'm so very glad you felt inspired to pray like that and that your husband was kept safe and sound.
And isn't The Lord so kind? He blesses us with so much and most of it, I think simply out of love.

Kazzy said...

Wow. Those kinds of experiences are so powerful. I am glad he stayed safe.

Melissa said...

Thanks for sharing. It is so important to acknowledge these events not merely as coincidence but as miracles, and answers to prayers. Wonderful story.

Stephanie said...

Small miracles, big answers. Awesome.

Lara Neves said...

This gave me chills. Heavenly Father loves us so much, is so willing to bless us. And all we must do is ask and live worthily as you say.

I'm so thankful your prayer was answered!

Erin said...

It really is amazing how much traveling you guys put it for church and callings. I know that you are blessed for the sacrifices you make to do that. I think praying for safety becomes so rote and I am grateful for this reminder to be more sincere about it and more grateful when that prayer is answered.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

My eyes are prickling with tears Lisa. What a beautiful, faith affirming experience.

Barbaloot said...

That's incredible! I'm happy you two got to share that faith building experience---even if it was very scary.

Liz said...

I love the moments when we are reminded how mindful Heavenly Father is of us. Thanks for sharing.

melissabastow said...

That is really awesome. It always amazes me how prayers can be answered in such small and unexpected ways.

And you know, I also worry about how the cops will get in touch if my husband dies. His license doesn't have our correct address, what if they can't find me? Will they call everyone on his cell phone contact list looking for me? Because I know I'll be sitting at home super ticked off that he's late AGAIN, and there he'll be dead on the side of the road. That's why on my cell phone contact list I have his number under "HUSBAND." That should clear things up if I'm the one that dies, right?

Annette Lyon said...

A tender mercy indeed.

Randi said...

Every now and then I love getting those little feather nudges that Heavenly Father really does hear me and love me.
I'm so glad you got one, too!

Andi Kate, Children's Author said...

I let my mind wander on the what-ifs of Chris driving home from work on an almost daily basis. It's freaky. I will think to pray and not panic next time, thanks to you!

Anne said...

Wow. Thanks for the reminder!

Susan said...

Just so you know, I read your posts as they come up my reader within a few minutes to days, but my commenting is more of an all-at-once thing these days...

I am glad you posted this.