Lot's going on recently with the Lord leading the way. Over
the spring School Break my wife, Sue, and I accompanied our two sons, Adam and
Joshua, and Josh's wife, Angela, to Arizona. We saw the Lord show up "big
time" when we ran into what I truly thought was an impossible situation.
We flew from Detroit to Las Vegas Saturday night to get as inexpensive a flight
as possible. We then rented a white Dodge Grand Caravan vehicle Sunday morning
at the Las Vegas airport and drove more than four hours to Flagstaff, Arizona,
where we had an airB&B place rented.
Our first full day of sightseeing was Monday and we drove an
hour south of Flagstaff to a place called Sedona. Adam and Josh rented high-end
mountain bikes. (They are both expert riders.) While they took off on their
mountain bikes, Sue, Angela and I went hiking for several hours. We agreed to
meet back at the van around 4:00 p.m. Only my wife, Sue, and youngest son,
Josh, had insurance to drive the van. Sue was the driver that first day we went
to Sedona. Well, we all arrived back at the van around 4:00 p.m. only to
discover that Sue had lost the only key for the van. (Although we were
permitted two drivers, we were not issued two keys.) Sue had been carrying the
key in a kind of combination money pouch/fanny pack strapped around her waist.
You've got to picture this. We're out in the middle of
nowhere minimum one hour's drive from Flagstaff and more than four hours drive
from the van rental place in Las Vegas. Furthermore, Sedona and the surrounding
area were extremely busy with Spring Break tourists. So much so that all the
parking lots near the various Sedona trails were positively jammed with
vehicles. We ended up parking on the side of the road along with probably 75 to
100 other vehicles.
Now, I'm thinking we are really, really in a jam. We can't
even unlock the van much less drive it. I got down on my hands and knees and
began looking in the gravel around and under the van on the off chance Sue had
dropped the key after locking the van. There was no key to be found. Then I
started doing a search around the van covering an area approximately 25 feet in
circumference. But there was still no key to be found and it's starting to get
later and later. Sue did remember that she had gone to use a ladies' restroom
near the end of our hike. Because there was no toilet paper, she opened her
money pouch/fanny pack to get some Kleenex. Sue thought it was possible she
might have lost the key in the restroom. So Adam and Angela start jogging back
down the trail to the restroom.
I sat down on a rock. I must admit I was aware of God but I
wasn't actually praying to Him about our predicament because I could not see
any possible answer to our dilemma. After about five minutes, I look up from my
seat on the rock and I watch Sue open the driver's side door of the van. This
made no sense because the van had been locked up tight when we left it to go
bike riding and hiking. Next, I see Sue open the sliding door on the driver's
side of the van. Again, I'm completely mystified. I knew that door had been
locked tight. About 15 seconds later a dark car pulled in behind our van. The
front passenger's window goes down and a hand appears holding onto a key. Next,
I hear a female voice say to my wife, Sue: "Did you lose your key?"
Sue answers "Yes" and the key is placed in her hand. I then hear
someone in the car say something about God. I went closer to the car and asked:
"Are you Christians?" "Yes," answers the lady who had just
given Sue the key. I then began to explain that I am an ordained pastor who
serves the Lord as a chaplain and that we were also Christians. I had to crouch
down even lower to be able to see that there was a man driving the car. As I
peered into the car, I heard the man say, "We believe in being Spirit
led."
For nearly seven or eight years now, I have really prayed a
lot about me having a more intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. In fact,
in the last year, I have pressed in even harder asking that I might truly know
the Holy Spirit and that He would equip, enable and empower me. I often pray
that the Holy Spirit will "lead me and feed me." There is literally
nothing that man could have said that would have resonated more deeply with me
than for him to mention the name of the Holy Spirit. It was so clear that God
had intervened via his Holy Spirit to solve what to me was an impossible
situation.
Here's what happened. The lady found our van key in the
ladies' restroom. Then she and her husband began driving all around the various
parking lots and along the roads lined with cars. The lady was pushing the lock
release button on the key fob in hopes of identifying the vehicle the key
belonged to. Because she had been pushing the lock release, that's why Sue had
been able to suddenly open the two doors on the driver's side 10-15 seconds
before the car pulled in behind our van. It's amazing that this couple would go
to all that trouble instead of just taking the key to a ranger's station or
perhaps a police station. However, the Spirit told them to drive around looking
for the vehicle that fit the found key. Timing was everything. We could very
easily still have been out on the biking/hiking trails when this couple drove
by. But, God made sure we were there to connect with this Spirit-led Christian
couple.
I tell you, I have seen the Lord do many amazing things in
my 37 years of following Christ. But this incident with the van key in Sedona
ranks right up there amongst the top three things I've had the unique privilege
of watching the Lord do. It was highly significant that the lady placed the van
key in my wife's hand because Sue was the one who was feeling awful about
creating this impossible situation for all of us. And, secondly, it was highly
significant that the man spoke those critical words: "We believe in being
Spirit led."
God's grace and God's love were so evident. He did not
abandon us at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. He did not leave
us nor forsake us.
We began driving the van down the road in hopes of meeting
up with Angela and Adam. Sue was concerned that they might go looking for the
key on the maze of trails beyond the ladies' restroom. In fact, as we started
down the road we met Angela and Adam jogging toward us. Angela and Adam could
not figure out how we were able to drive the van when they realized it was us
coming toward them. Amazing grace!
So that was our initial God-ordained adventure on our first
day in Sedona, Arizona.
I hope you find this true story encouraging, Alex. God can
and will do abundantly more than we can ever think or ask!
inHisname
Cousin Dave
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