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Protection on the freeway
This is adapted from a comment originally published on JSH-Online in response to the blog Question of the Week, “How have you prayed in situations where there’s danger?”
One day as my husband and I were driving our car down the freeway, an 18-wheel semi-truck went out of control and came barreling across the median on the road in front of us. There was no time for specific prayer as I tried to avoid an imminent broadside collision. My first thought was, “Which direction should I steer the car?” I had the cruise control set just under the speed limit, at 72 miles per hour, and the truck was wobbling ominously just ahead. I was already applying the brakes on the car, but not forcefully, and in an instant the truck passed in front of us and was gone.
What we didn’t realize, however, was that the truck was bringing with it an enormous amount of dirt and debris from the desert terrain it had crossed over. Our car was suddenly enveloped in a dust cloud that was much like a dense fog. During this time I was driving blindly. My husband quickly said, “Don’t stop.” He understood that there might be other vehicles behind us that could also be impacted by this situation. I was so grateful for his calm alertness, and for the calm I felt also, even though we had come within seconds of impact. We were able to drive safely out of the dust cloud and pull to the side of the road to call 911. Behind us, we could see that a line of trucks had also stopped, apparently without colliding.
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I am convinced we were able to remain calm and confident of God's protection in this situation because of the inspiration we gained from a discussion we had just had a few minutes earlier about a testimony in The Christian Science Journal from March 1918. It had been recommended during my Christian Science Primary class instruction many years before, and I have always carried it with me in thought. The testifier, Anna S. van Leeuwen, was not a student of Christian Science when she became very ill. Out of money and no longer able to afford the sanitorium where she was staying, she accepted an invitation to stay in the home of a friend who was a Christian Scientist. She was so feeble she had to be assisted to bed, and as her friend left the room, she gave her a book to read, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. After just 20 minutes of reading this book and pondering the truths it contains, Anna experienced complete healing of tubercular disease, deafness, and limited vision.
Is it any wonder that these same truths sustained my husband and me and kept us safe during the episode with an out-of-control truck? Nothing is ever beyond God’s control, and our recognition of this and gratitude for God’s care are our protection at all times.
About the author
Judy Hoddle lives in Surprise, Arizona.