Lord, Did I Misunderstand? Six Vagabonds and One Chihuahua Reach Ohio

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psa. 23:4-5). God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble” (Psa. 46:1).

Hey Gang, When I left you in the last “Trip Blog”, we were on top of the Rocky Mountain traversing between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming, about forty miles.  We were praising the Lord that the very tired Econo Van had enough strength to conquer the Mountain. 

About half way up the Mountain the fog changed from pure, soupy fog, to a combination of soup fog and snow-filled clouds which only increased the challenge to keep the vehicles out of the ruts and on the path. As we climbed, this familiar Scripture was so real and filled our minds: “Even though I walk (drive) through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me”. (Psalm 23).  

Shortly after reaching the summit we were blessed with a hard-surfaced road, which made life more enjoyable. Nearing the exhaustion level, we needed a good meal, a time for the kids to stretch their legs and run off some pent-up steam and a warm bed; however, as we began our decent from the summit, God gave us a glorious, beyond description experience. We drove out of the fog-cloud combo and could see the valley below and the city of Cheyenne. 

There is nothing more beautiful than the sunsets radiating off the mountains in the Western States.  But that night it was especially radiant and especially designed by Abba Father for six very weary vagabonds.  The view was awesome but it was far more, it pumped us full of adrenalin and we by-passed Cheyenne and continued for several a couple hours before stopping for night four in Nebraska.   

The morning was wonderful! Dry roads, the storms were no more, the temperature had risen and we had full tanks of excitement as we waited to see what was in store for us this Day Five!  Our original intention was to drive to Iowa and spend the night visiting some of my bride’s family but, when we arrived at the turn off point, it was much too early to stop and we were getting very anxious to get this trip behind us.  Another blessing-crisis abruptly hit.

As we pulled off the road, to discuss the change in plans, I hit a patch of that Iowa-gumbo mud, that is a combination of glue and slippery mud, which pulled the Van down an embankment.  To keep the Van pointed in the right direction and prevent it from turning over, I kept the engine at full throttle; hit the bottom and started back up the embankment, coming within ten feet of the road. 

No problem, have pick-up with more than enough power to pull the Van back to the road and ye-old-chain to complete the task.  After connecting the two vehicles together, the time for action had arrived for action.  Problem:  I forgot to tell my bride that she needed to take the slack out of the chain before pulling the Van.  I learned, at that moment, that 1950 Econo Van could fly! 

Wasn’t that Lucky? God protected us again and we were on our way!

The final catharsis of the trip happened as we approached destination in Ohio, midnight of Day Six. The Freeway was under construction, the road signs had been moved; we missed our turn off - and had to drive an additional twenty miles before turning around and driving 30 miles back!  At twelve-thirty A.M.- to the absolute amazement of my bride’s parents- we arrived!

Next: What I learned from this trip.  Be advised, when we arrived, the memories of the trip, and the many catharsis. only emphasized the question in my mind, “Lord, did I misunderstand?”

Blessings,

Gramps