Rocky Mountain High
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8 ESV
Karen and I recently returned from an adventure in the Tennessee Mountains. The colors of the trees were spectacular and the ride up, for the most part, was pleasant. We also shared time with our daughter’s family which made it very special for both of us. But the trip was not without incident.
Arriving in Pigeon Forge we made a pitstop at the local Publix. I was following my son-in-law in hope that I would not get lost on the mountain roads. This is where good intention turned into desperate straits. Leaving the parking lot, we somehow got separated. Rather than allow the situation to overtake me I turned to my trusty phone and typed in the cabin’s coordinates. Up popped the GPS and off we went. After an unsuccessful ice cream diversion, we began to climb the mountain passes. Now looking back, I do not know whether the nice lady was steering me wrong, or if I wasn’t following her directions but before long, we were hopelessly lost. As most men do in these heralding situations, I did something that made no sense at all. I found the steepest driveway I could and climbed it. Sitting at the top of the driveway I realized that the only choice I had was to back down onto the country road.
As we descended Karen began to pray. Following the script in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation she prayed, “Our Father, who art in heaven, forgive my husband, for he knows not what he does.” At the conclusion of her prayer, I gave a resounding ‘amen’ and promptly slid off into a ditch. With my foot on the brake and my heart in my throat, I hung on for dear life. Teeter tottering off the side of the ditch I told Karen to get out of the car. If I was going to be launched into a 6-foot ditch vertically I was determined to suffer the indignity alone. I called my son-in-law in the hope that he could find me, but his GPS was working as well as mine and with my phone’s battery running out, I knew I was in trouble. In those situations, we are left with little but prayer. I thought to myself Lord I need help and help was not far away. Several pick-up trucks stopped on the road and men began to surround my Subaru. Realizing my front right tire was off the ground several of them sat down on my hood while the others got behind the car. With the help of those men, my all-wheel drive, and the good Lord, I drove out of that ditch with no damage to the car. By that time a crowd had gathered as women applauded and men cheered our victorious deliverance from the pit of disaster. I shared that story because I want to remind you how good the Lord is to all of us, and, as for me and my house, we’re keeping our feet in the sand for a while.
