Friday, March 11, 2022 (today’s lectionary)
Dawn in Indiana
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. Lord, hear my voice.
Margaret arrived on time in Evansville, in time at nearly midnight to a family welcome, with sister, niece and grand-nephew all at the gate. At midnight? Her sister Kay might have just awakened; she talked for an hour, another hour, till Margaret dropped off the couch.
Well, not exactly. But she did drop off to sleep. And yesterday they spent the whole day talking and shopping. Margaret’s 98 year-old mom Dorothy quietly beamed her love off the chair and onto her daughters. When I finally arrived last night, she beamed all that love on me. She also shared her chair side treats with me, the raisins and the dried banana slices and most of all, the dried mango and the pineapple. On our last visit she gave us caramel apple pops, kind of a slow-poke for the 21st century.
Thus says the Lord God: if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Meanwhile, I drove through Dallas at night. Not just bright but colorful, the skyline called to me. Stop, stop! Take my picture, take my picture! I didn’t. But I also didn’t have the kind of trouble I expected with night vision. When there is potential for trouble on the road, my crew of angels seems to always be nearby.
I drove till about 11 pm, to Sulphur Springs, Texas, a bare 75 miles from Texarkana and the border. No friends at the motel this time. But they were businesslike and gave me a third floor room, and directions to the elevator. I fell into bed.
How far is it from Sulphur Springs to Mt. Pleasant? Last year on Valentine’s Day I spent a blizzardy 24 hours in Mt. Pleasant, while the frozen drifted Texas highway was NOT being cleared. I followed the one other crazy-to-be-on-the-road car down I-30 for seven hours, through an empty Dallas, to rescue Margaret from a powerless, waterless apartment in Austin. We spent the next five days with Andi and Aki. Our grandkids were overjoyed. Snow angels, stomping in the snow, making snowballs, cozy in a blanket afterward, reading stories with grandma.
Back to yesterday morning. Grandma was sleeping in Evansville. I was on the road at 7:15.
Just a few feet past the first Mt. Pleasant exit I hit a super bumpy piece of the highway. Where did that come from? No one else was slowing down. Then I heard a pop behind me, and pulled over. Rear left flat. Very flat.
The trucks zoomed past, while I unloaded half the Prius hatchback to get to the spare tire. Which, at least, was not flat. Jumping on the lug wrench, ratcheting up the tiny jack, pulling off the blown out tire, bolting on the spare, whew, I was exhausted. The trucks kept zooming by.
I googled “tires” and drove to Garcia Tires 8 minutes away, and the angels there had two tires for me and installed them in 25 minutes. Wow. Last year the angels at Quality Inn rescued me just in time from a blizzard. Mt. Pleasant might be named for the angels. I’m in love.
One more thing. When I reached the interstate there was a five mile backup, and so I followed the frontage road and avoided that whole thing. I prayed for the people caught in the endless traffic jam. Eventually I saw the problem. At the next exit, both lanes of the highway were closed. A semi was completely destroyed, caught up in a crushed guard rail. Backhoes were pulling it off, piece by piece. I wonder if the driver is alive. I wonder if he fell asleep. I prayed for him.
Through Texas and Arkansas, through Tennessee and Kentucky into Indiana, and we were together again. Twelve hours after I started, I could stop.
My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the dawn.
(Ezekiel 18, Psalm 130, Matthew 5)
(posted atwww.davesandel.net)
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