Who am I?

I left work early hoping to spell my bride from some of the errands of life that evening. I work in Washington, DC, though, and traffic was not cooperating.  As I sat in traffic listening to my favorite Christian radio station, I was beginning to get really upset. My personal intentions were, once again, destroyed by something I have absolutely no control over.

I turned the radio to a news radio station to get the latest traffic report. Bob Marbourg is one of the best traffic analysts in the business and he does the evening rush hour for Washington, DC.  After hearing his report, I realize there is no hope for me. However, he did mention an accident on the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge. That bridge is 75 miles south of Washington, DC, and it is the same bridge my wife will be crossing in about an hour. According to Bob, all traffic was blocked both ways across the bridge.  I called my wife.

Who am I?

She was upset, but not because of the accident blocking the bridge. She didn’t even know about that yet. She had taken the kids out of school early and was sitting in the doctor’s office. This was the last day to get chicken pox shots.  If the kids didn’t get them, they couldn’t be in school.  She had been sitting with all three children in the waiting room for almost two hours – for a shot we didn’t think was necessary with kids that didn’t want anybody sticking needles in their arms.  It wasn’t a pleasant experience. Our daughter was so upset about it she was running a 100-degree fever.  On top of all that, the doctor delays were going to make them late for her clarinet lesson which was on the other side of the bridge.  Oh well, the accident on the bridge probably took care of that problem.

Within about 15 minutes, while I am still sitting in traffic, my bride calls me back. She had received a call from the clarinet instructor. Because of the accident on the bridge, the clarinet instructor was not able to make the scheduled time, but had a cancellation at 6:00, so she could take our daughter then.  Since the bridge was still closed, my wife decided they would settle on some fast food and see if the bridge would be open in time to make the appointment. It would be tight, but they could still make our daughter’s dance lesson back on this side of the bridge by 7:00.

A few moments later Bob Marbourg tells everyone the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge is open again, but traffic is moving slowly.

Who am I?

I was finally making my way through traffic. As I passed Andrews Air Force Base, the traffic dam burst and there was no more bumper to bumper. Who knows why it was so congested to that point? The traffic patterns make no sense to me. Maybe they do to Bob Marbourg, but to me, after almost 15 years of commuting into Washington, DC, they still remain a mystery.  Well, my evening was shot. Figured I would go to where my daughter’s clarinet lesson was and pick up my two boys. They didn’t need to stay with mom and daughter through clarinet lessons and dance lessons. Maybe I could “make their day”.

As I approached the southern Maryland area, I called my wife again and told her of my plan. She agreed it would be great for me to gather the boys and take them home. They had just arrived at the clarinet lesson. All was well, but traffic was still moving slowly across the bridge.

Who am I?

Traffic was indeed slow crossing the bridge, but I crossed without any problems besides the delays.  By this time the delays seemed minor to what I had been in an hour earlier.  When I arrived at the building to pick up the boys, my youngest was out in the yard. There is no way he could sit still inside for very long. He saw me and ran to me. Called me “Luke Skywalker comes to rescue him from the evil empire.”  Yeah, guess I made his day.

Since traffic was still backed up significantly waiting to go back over the bridge, I opted to go to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. The boys had already eaten. Figured I could eat while the traffic died down and make sure the girls made it back to the dancing lesson without any problem. It was starting to drizzle.

Who am I?

I headed home with the boys. Traffic was moving fairly well over the two lane bridge that crosses the Patuxent River. The bridge is about two miles long and reaches about 350 feet in the air at the peak.  It crosses one of the deepest fresh water ports in the country. The water under the bridge is over 100 feet deep. The Navy runs submarine tests there.

I received a text message from my bride. They were at the dance lesson.  It was raining now. When I arrived home I sent my wife a text message saying we were home. She called.

Who am I?

While driving to the dance lesson, as the rain was coming down, she had passed a young lady walking along the road toward the bridge carrying a back pack.  God moved on my daughter who asked my wife to stop and help the young lady.   They did.

The young lady was walking to a friend’s house about 45 miles away.  She had just been thrown out of the place where she was living. She told my wife a long story of one problem after another that had almost destroyed her. She didn’t know what she was going to do. She was going to decide as she walked.  My wife told me on the phone that she wanted to take her to her friend’s house fearing the young lady was near suicidal. She was glad she had picked her up before she crossed the bridge.  It would have been an easy way to end her life had she wanted to. Since my wife had taken her this far (to the dance studio), she wanted to now take her the rest of the way to her friend’s house.  I agreed. No problem. I would watch the boys, while the girls took her where she was going – and made sure she arrived there safely.

Who am I?

My wife and daughter arrived home after midnight that night. They had taken the young lady to her friend’s house where she was going to stay for a while.  They took the opportunity to share about Jesus and His love and gave the young lady a Bible.

Receiving the Bible wasn’t as important as experiencing God’s love through my wife and daughter. I was very grateful my daughter heard the call of God and asked my wife to stop and pick the young lady up when they first saw her walking along the road. I was very grateful my wife realized what was going on and stopped. With all the delays, it would have been so easy to ignore the young lady and not stop.  I was very grateful that I had been delayed so I had picked up the boys and she was free to offer time and love to the young lady.

Who am I?

As my wife and I looked back over the series of events of the day, we have to ask “Who am I that the Creator of the universe takes the time to ask me to be a part of what He is doing?”  The traffic delays, the accident on the bridge, the rain, the delayed clarinet lesson, the shuffling of children, and my daughter hearing the voice of God. All those things happened so that one young lady could be touched by the love of God through my wife and daughter.  One young lady who, distraught and discouraged, was walking toward a bridge that crosses one of the deepest ports in the country where she could have ended her life so easily.  Instead, she received a warm ride, a couple of understanding hearts, and some seeds of the Gospel planted.

I don’t know why God trusts us with such a delicate balance of life and death. I wouldn’t. He does. Of all the people in the world, that night He used my little family to change the life of one young lady. Who knows? That young lady may end up changing her life, her family, her town, our nation, or one other heart.  In any case, it is very humbling to think that God trusted us so much.  Today, we go about our same routine of school, work, and chores. But that night, the world stood still as ministry was done in a young lady’s life.  No doubt, it made a difference. Maybe someday we will see her again.