THE LORD’S HAND OF PROTECTION…

by Danna Shirley

I’m sharing this on my blog because I have to give praise to GOD and write it down somewhere but I don’t want to tell my family for fear they will never let me leave the house again…and they probably don’t read my blog anyway. 😊

Tuesday morning, April 28, 2020, I had cabin fever from being quarantined for two months during the COVID-19 pandemic. I decided it was safe enough to travel the five hours to my sister’s for a three to four-day visit. I've done it several times in the past with no problems.

What I want to share, however, is the five-hour trip from Cordova, TN to Crossville, TN. I woke that morning with the hint of a sniffle. Experience tells me to take an Alka Seltzer Plus at the onset and that usually nips it in the bud. Alka Seltzer Plus makes me a little sleepy which was not wise right before a road trip…so, I also took a Wide Awake pill as I got on the road. I usually take a No Doz, which I know works well for me, but I couldn’t find them on my last road trip so I had bought Wide Awake.

Now I had an Alka Seltzer Plus and a Wide Awake in my system. I guess this was not a wise decision but it couldn’t be helped if I wanted to visit my sister, which I desperately needed to do.

Driving on Interstate 40 is easily done. I usually drive about 75 miles per hour. I stopped for a potty break and gas about an hour out. I stopped at a Love’s at two hours out, looked for a book on CD (none available), and got a chicken sandwich for lunch. At three hours out I made my third stop and found a book on CD and took my second Wide Awake to get me through the next two hours.

The Wide Awake DID NOT WORK because I kept having to jerk my eyes back to the road. I was not doing my best driving but I thought I was doing okay and did not feel in jeopardy of having an accident.

At thirty miles from Crossville, driving at 75mph, I was jolted awake to find that I had veered from the slow lane across the fast lane and into the wide median. I was being bumped along through grass and mud. I didn’t have the forethought to even brake but did have the mindset to look behind me to see if any cars were coming. None! So, without missing a beat, I moved back on the road, back into the slow lane and kept driving as if nothing had happened. The closest car behind me was far enough back they couldn’t have seen what I just went through. My purse, book on CD, bag of Fritos and bean dip, and trash from lunch had bounced around and landed on the floor of the passenger side. My neck and shoulders felt like I had just experienced whiplash.

I was now WIDE, WIDE AWAKE and slowed down for my last thirty miles. I praised and thanked God all the way to Crossville for His hand of protection over me and everyone else on the road around me. When I think of all the places I could have fallen asleep, the cars I could have hit, the people I could have injured or killed, including myself, plus I was in the mountains and could have gone off a cliff...I just thank Him for taking control of my car, covering me with His wings, and bringing good from what could have been a tragedy.

GOD BLESS HIS HOLY NAME!

Now, I'm not proud of this part, but I knew if I showed up at home with mud and grass dripping from under my car, questions would be asked. So, I went through the car wash on Stage Rd, Bartlett, and made sure the attendant did an extra wash in the wheel wells and under the edges of the car. It was gleaming as I drove home, none the worse for wear.

Is this cheating? Well, I was the only one involved and God always knows where His children are and what they are doing. Forgive me, Lord, for being a little deceptive.