"What do you think?" Howard said as he eyed the short pasture slope to the hen house. "Do you think we should drive down?" The snow and slight rain had no doubt softened the soil and we hated to make tracks, but it was easier than walking back up. Anyway, by this time, he was already half-way down. We honked and the chickens scurried out of their coop in anticipation of their reward for the eggs we were about to gather.
Our flock was enjoying the glorious sunshine after the beautiful snow yesterday that was rapidly disappearing under these milder temperatures. They devoured several scoops of feed and were making the happy, off-key sound that voiced their contentment. We watched in satisfaction and amusement, and, after checking their water, got back in the car and curved behind the chicken house up the hill to the road. The grassy turf would give us firm traction, we figured, but we proceeded gingerly, nonetheless.
Suddenly we were slipping! The tires spun as the grass gave way to the mud beneath. Oh, no! Don't let us get stuck! My thoughts were a prayer as I held my breath and willed the tires to grip the surface. Howard backed up and tried again at a different angle. By this time I was praying loudly for help! Again and again we tried to urge the car along as the wheels spun, slinging mud and grass behind us. Unwelcome scenarios of sliding all the way down the hill into a ravine played out in my mind. How would we ever get out if that happened?
Looking for something for a firm foothold, I yelled, "Get on those rocks! That will help us!", pointing to a flat stone slab and other embedded boulders about halfway up. Howard swung the car toward them and gave it a go, but we slipped, nevertheless. He tried again, and this time our tenuous grip on the solid surface held! With a final thrust of the engine, we were out! Enormous relief and happy praises flooded the car. Thank God, we hadn't had to be towed!
"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings," David said in Psalm 40:2. I certainly identified with that! The next verse says, "And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." We were singing a new song, all right!
Several times in the Psalms, David refers to the stability of God as the Rock. Jesus himself said, "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner," referring to Himself in Mark 12:10. I love the words of the old song, "On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand." In times of sickness, fear, or uncertainty we can trust our firm foundation, Jesus Christ!
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