Traveling Mercies

“How much farther shall we go?” Howard and I questioned each other as we were nearing our regular overnight stop on our journey home. The sun was still high in the sky, and we had gained an hour when we came back into Central Time Zone, so it made no sense to stop for the night yet. Besides we really weren’t tired. “Let’s go on to Little Rock,” he suggested. That would be more than halfway and give us a shorter day of travel tomorrow.

“What lake is that?” I asked after we had crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis. Then, as the water extended farther, I realized it not a lake but the flooding of the river. I was used to seeing rice fields flooded entering into Arkansas, but this was worse. Soon, we noticed houses marooned and surrounded by water. I had heard Arkansas received a lot of rain, but we had been out of touch with weather reports except as concerned us on our trip.

Shortly after leaving our daughter’s in Georgia, we noticed a lighted sign over the highway with the message that the upcoming Ringgold exit was closed due to massive debris on the roadway. What could that mean, I wondered? Why didn’t they clear it off? My question was answered a little later when I saw another sign that said there was no access to the town. Looking out the window, I saw an incredible sight. Pulverized houses were crumbled and dropped on to the interstate exit and the approach to the city. Not trailers or flimsy houses, but the brick and concrete of substantial homes and businesses buried the highway. One of the tornadoes that narrowly missed Shannon and Amy’s home had hit here!

We had prayed as we were caught in a weather front in the mountainous area between Chattanooga and Nashville. The rain, fog, and steep grades made for dangerous conditions. We stopped at a restaurant for a long lunch, waiting it out, and the sky was lighter when we came out. Now we were enjoying beautiful sunshine and began looking for somewhere to stay as we came to Little Rock. Spotting a Cracker Barrel, we checked on lodging close by, but nothing suited. Unsavory-looking characters were hanging about smoking or lounging over balconies on some. Other motels were too expensive or filled up. After looking at 4 or 5, we followed up on one last recommendation.

“We got our room!” Howard said triumphantly as he came out of the office. It was moderately priced and turned out to be a jewel box of a room. It was small, but immaculate and tastefully decorated with elegant touches of black diamond inserts in bathroom tile, angled sink mirrors, crisp white pillows on the pair of turned-down beds, the sheet snugly folded in a tight fit over the coverlet halfway down the comfy mattress.

We relaxed and thanked God for his blessings, and again the next day when we heard that I-40 in Arkansas had been closed due to flooding, apparently not long after we had passed through. “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee,” Isaiah 43:2. We had gone about 2,000 miles on this trip, but He was with us on everyone of them.