This post is an abridged version of a story from the book, The Lord Cares for Me, available through Amazon publishing. The stories in the book illustrate truths from Psalm 23. I’ve set the Kindle version of the book to be available for free this week (M-F, Oct 16-20). You can download a Kindle app to your computer if you don’t have a Kindle e-reader. There are also Kindle apps you can load on your phone. Paperback editions may be purchased if preferred. If you do get a copy of the book, reviews posted on the Amazon website will be appreciated.
I have a couple other books available on Amazon also:
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Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. You are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff comfort me (Psalm 23:4 NIrV).
The story of Tom and Tina
by David Sellnow
Tina and Tom and their children—Haley (age 5), Rose (3), and Zack (not quite a year old)—had made a trip to Seattle, many miles from their home in southern Colorado. They’d attended a wedding of some friends and planned sightseeing on the way. On their road trip to the northwest, they camped in Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho. On the way home, they traveled south down the Pacific coastline, camping overnight at a beautiful state park in Oregon. Tom had mapped everything out in advance. There was an east-west highway across central Oregon that they could take to reconnect to the interstate and head home.
The first part of the journey eastward was challenging. The road wound up into the mountains at a steep angle. There were twists and turns, and thick trees lined both sides of the road. Whenever they drove with the kids in the vehicle, Tina tended to be nervous. She was a worrier. The narrow lanes of this road and the inability to see past each tight turn only added to her tension.
Then things got worse–a long section of road construction. The lanes got even narrower, the traffic more congested. Inside herself, Tina’s emotions were boiling. The fun they’d enjoyed on the Oregon coast wasn’t worth the stress added by taking this way home. She wanted to yell at Tom for planning a bad route … but held her tongue in front of the kids. Tom was feeling the stress too, partly because he could tell how much the tension was eating at his wife.
They were relieved when they descended the eastern ridge of the mountains and came out to a city in the flatness of the valley below. They stopped for gas, got the kids some drinks and snacks, then continued on their way. Tina took her turn behind the wheel. She was less stressed when she was driving. She felt like she had at least some control that way.
Free public domain CC0 photo, Rawpixel.com
Tina’s feeling of control faded before long. East of the mountains, Oregon seemed like a barren wasteland. There were no cattle or farms. There were no towns, no signs of anyone living on the land. For a half hour of driving, they hadn’t even seen another car on the road, in either direction.
“What happens if we run out of gas out here?” Tina blurted out when she couldn’t hold back her worries anymore.
“We have plenty of gas,” Tom assured her. “We filled up the tank less than an hour ago.”
“But there’s nothing out here!” Tina said, almost screaming. The fact that the children were in the back seat wasn’t enough to restrain her anymore.
“Check your cell phone,” she said to Tom. “Can you get a signal?”
Tom looked at his phone. There was no signal.
“See, we could die out here!” Tina moaned, her fears overwhelming her.
Hayley spoke up from the back seat. “Mommy, God knows where we are even if the cell phone doesn’t work.”
Tina tried to show calm on the outside, but inside her mind, her worries would not be quiet. She drove for another half hour, still encountering no other cars on the road. Tina began to notice the temperature gauge on the dashboard was rising above its normal range. “Tom, the engine is getting hotter. What happens if the engine overheats?” There was a tone of panic in Tina’s voice.
“Let’s pull over,” Tom suggested. “Let the engine cool a little.”
It was hot outside. Zack wouldn’t stop crying. Tina tried to hold him and soothe him, but soon she was crying uncontrollably too. Hayley and Rose were scared–mostly because Mom was so scared. Tom tried to calm everyone down. “Let’s all say a prayer,” he said, and asked God to guard them with his angels.
Tom drove when they resumed traveling, taking it slow. Before long, in the rearview mirror, he saw a car approaching. Tom slowed further and turned on his flashers. As the car came closer, Tom realized it was a state trooper. Normally Tom didn’t like seeing the lights of a patrol car in his rearview mirror. Most times it meant he was in trouble for speeding or breaking some traffic law. Today, Tom breathed a sigh of relief, comforted by the presence of the state trooper. They weren’t alone on the road.
“How can I help you folks?” the officer said when he walked up alongside the van.
“You’ve helped us already, just by being here!” Tina said.
Tom explained the situation. The trooper said he’d follow behind them to make sure they made it to the next town, which was about 20 miles ahead. The family’s trip home was delayed by half a day while a mechanic in town fixed their engine problem. But they made it home safe, and that was what mattered.
As Tina tucked the children into bed at home, one by one, Rose said, “Mommy … the policeman who stopped to help us … was he an angel?”
“Well, he was an answer to our prayers, that’s for sure!” Tina took Rose’s hands in hers to say a prayer of thanks to God for watching over them on their journey.
The moral of the story:
Too often, we think of God watching us like a state trooper with a radar gun, ready to arrest us when we break commandments. When life’s road is long and lonely and we realize how vulnerable we are, knowing that God’s authority surrounds us relieves our fears. As the psalm writer confessed, “Your shepherd’s rod and staff comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
What if the story of Tom and Tina’s family had ended differently? What if their car did break down on the barren road and no one came to help them? What about our own lives when problems pile up and there seems to be no relief? Does that mean God has deserted us? No, the Lord is always shepherding us, even when we are walking through the darkest corners of life … and death. He’s not just our God for solutions to problems while we’re on this earth. His ultimate purpose is to lead us to an eternity with him. One of the teachers Jesus gave to the church said, “I push hard toward what is ahead of me. I move on toward the goal to win the prize … the heavenly prize” in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14). No matter what dangers we face, no matter how dark or scary the journey gets, we can say, “I will not be afraid. Lord, you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION®.Copyright © 1996, 1998 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica.
