Follow the Father!

stevenrose — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 04:09:40 +0000

We had just arrived in Knoxville. I led the way in the 2005 silver Ford Mustang as Jason followed in the seventeen foot U-Haul truck. We had driven fourteen hours the day before and traveled about 800 miles. When we started out around 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jason told me that his mirror was loose on the truck. Just 40 miles out of Knoxville, he called me and said, “Dad, I just lost the mirror!” Driving a U-Haul truck was a challenge all by itself without the added challenges of hills, curves, and construction. Now, without a mirror, I learned that Jason had to look different ways to try to see. The next town was 40 miles away and the hills were getting more steep and curvy. The only way he could navigate was to follow me. When we had to pass cars, I had to look back and make sure he could pull out left. He had to trust me all the way to Bristol, Tenn. When we got there, the instructions we were given did not work, and we went about nine miles further to Abington, Virginia. We pulled off to search the internet on Jason’s IPhone for the nearest U- Haul place. With no luck, I pulled over in front of a building, got out of the car, and went back to figure out a plan. The next thing I knew, we were greeted by two men in blue suits. Unknowingly, I had pulled up in front of a Federal Building in Abington, Virginia, in a silver Mustang with a small U-Haul truck. As the men approached me, I told them we were looking for a U-Haul truck center, because we had just lost the mirror on the truck. One of the men said you never drive up in a U-Haul truck and stop in front of a Federal Building. I told him I was a Pastor, and that I did not know where I was. When the men saw we were legitimate, they took me inside. There were another six men dressed in blue coats. They were kind and proceeded to help me find a U-Haul center. I went back to the car and got ready to leave when one of the men in blue jackets came out to the car. It scared me. I thought I had done something else wrong. I hit the button to roll down the window. He proceeded to tell me how to turn the truck around and get to the U-Haul place. We finally got to there only to discover they had a U-Haul sign, but no trucks or service. The man said we could get the U-Haul mechanic to come out and replace the mirror. I said that would not do and asked for directions to the service center. Once again, Jason had to trust me to direct him through traffic. By this time, we had traveled sixty miles, almost got arrested, backtracked because of wrong directions, and were now in the town we had just passed through. We finally found the place. I had never been so glad to see a U-Haul sign. The kind, southern people at the Bristol U-Haul Service Center had a mirror on the truck in a matter of minutes, and we were back on our way. Jason had experienced a lesson in trusting his father for guidance and his safety. This son I raised was moving to Maryland and was still needing my guidance. I must have felt for a moment what our heavenly Father feels as he looks in his rearview mirror and wonders if we will truly trust and follow him completely. I think I better understand Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

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Follow the Father!