It was the weekend just after 911. I was to fly to the Austin area of Texas with three other ladies for a women’s conference. Because of the horrific events of that week, most airports had grounded many of their flights and our plans had to change. We had decided to just stay home, until one of us had the brilliant idea to drive the trip instead. All four of us liked this idea and we were all able to make it work with jobs, families, and schedules. So off we go, road trip.

Now, being from California and driving to Austin isn’t that easy a trip. Just Texas alone goes on, and on, and on… huge state with a lot of empty land. We had to get there in two days and on top of all this, I was six months pregnant. I do not recommend any woman this far along in pregnancy to drive across country! My only comfort was that this was one of my overall most comfortable pregnancies and we were driving in my Mother’s Lincoln Towne Car and it was very roomy!

So, the trip was great, the conference was great and we had a great time bonding in the car ride. I loved the trip. But something happened on the drive that impacted all four of us women in that car. A reminder of how good God is and how Sovereign God is.

We had taken a detour from the route we originally planned to try and shave some time off the trip. We were somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, but in Texas. It was the middle of the night. We were not driving all that fast because we were on a small two lane highway and trying not to get lost. Remember, this was the early 90’s so we didn’t have our blue tooth GPS system to help. We had a map.  As we are all studying the map, directed the driver and making our way, we suddenly see the red and blue lights out of nowhere flashing in our rear view mirror. We were being pulled over.

The officer was very nice, but told us we had been speeding. He decided not to give us a ticket after having a full-blown conversation with him about where we were going and why we were in his town, Rising Star, Texas. That helped us a great deal, because to that point we weren’t sure what town we were in (lack of signage)! We gave him a Spark, of course! (Spark is a nutrition beverage that gives mental focus and it is amazing!) He was a very kind and helpful gentlemen. We must have chatted with him at least 20 minutes before he let us go. As we drove away we recapped the incident and all I just said, about how nice he was, etc. But we all agreed that we hadn’t been speeding so hadn’t a clue why he pulled us over.  Until, just a quarter mile or less up the road, we had to stop again. There was a huge accident that had just happened. Medi-flight choppers were coming in to take the people to the hospital. A semi truck had collided with a car and it was a horrible multi vehicle accident. We all became a bit stunned…not just because of what we were witnessing, but because we each knew instantly that God had sent the officer to delay us so we would not be in the accident, too. For sure enough, if we hadn’t been stopped, that is most likely what would have happened.

In fact, we were all so impacted and grateful that when we got home we called the Police Department of Rising Star and asked for the officer who had pulled us over (we knew his full name). Guess what? We were told that Rising Star only had two officers (tiny town) and that neither of them had that name! Hmmm??? What????? Let your mind wrap around that!

God is so incredibly involved in every detail of our life. For many this is such a hard one to swallow because bad things do happen. People do get hurt or suffer. I don’t have all the answers. But I do have a desire to deeply know the one who has all the answers and more. I do not hold the universe in my palm, but He does. He sees the span of Eternity and what to allow and what to intervene. I don’t know why He protected us from the accident and didn’t stop the accident all together. I do know how comforted I was that He cared enough to protect my life and my little baby who had yet to take his first breath.

We think we are in control of our lives. We plan, we try, we save, we sow seeds for our future blessings, but God is in charge of what gets blessed and what doesn’t. God is the decider of Purpose and Destiny. When we seek His guidance He can help us get there, but outside of Him our efforts can be quite futile. For many this is a disturbing thought, they like to be in charge and in control. But truly, it should be a comfort. Though we try, when we fail, when we fall short, when we mess up…God is there and He continues to guide our steps and get us to the Destination. You don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have to worry. You don’t have to be “good enough” or “smart enough” or “talented enough”. Just trust Him and abide in Him and He will let you know what you need to know to move along the path. Let him be your Compass. Allow Him to be your Guide. We had a map to guide our dark path as we drove through territory we had never seen and weren’t familiar with. Much like life, allow Him to be your Holy Spirit GPS. He will get you where you need to be and He will do it with kindness and care, just like the officer in my story. He will equip and protect your life. He will be a Map in your hand.

He cares that much for you.

I care for you, too. This is my purpose and reason to write, to add value and offer insight from the stories of my life. To edify, encourage and most of all comfort. You are never alone. Everything is going to be all right.

~Nicole

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33