Article March 9, 2009 Issue

SAFE ON A DATE

BY REBECCA ODEGAARD

When I was a college student, I spent one of my summers enjoying the "perfect summer job," working for a hotel on an island off the scenic New England coast. It was an unfamiliar area of the country to me, and I was really on my own for the first time. That summer, I had a chance to prove how our thoughts of God confirm our safety wherever we are.

One night, I went on a date with a boy who I thought was pretty nice. At the party he took me to, there was the usual drinking, which didn't bother me since I'd been offered alcohol before at college. I didn't drink, so I just turned it down. But when drugs surfaced, I felt uncomfortable and asked my date to take me home. He was annoyed, and then became belligerent, which scared me. It was as if his normally kind nature had been erased. My fear increased when I asked a few other people if they'd take me back to town and they refused. Feeling stuck, I walked out on the porch near the sand dunes and began to pray. Whenever I'd faced difficulties before, I'd seen that God provided answers in the form of real, practical, reliable help.