In The Wilderness

By Laura Stevens, Trinity United Methodist Church
​
It was a very dark and rainy night.  It was supposed to have been a happy time with friends at the Purdue Christmas Show at 3:30 that afternoon.  I knew that this could be problematic for me because I’ve had chronic fatigue syndrome since I was 17 and that time of day was my worst.  Things did not go well.  We sat close to the stage and the loud music and visual stimuli compounded my fatigue.  After the show ended we had to wait and wait for our driver because of all the traffic to pick us up to take us to dinner.  It was raining and we had to stand by the buses and their noxious fumes added to my feeling crummy.  I was physically and mentally exhausted.  I decided there was no way I could cope with dinner so I asked our host to drop me back at his house where I had left my car. I was eager to get home and eat and get my medicine so I got in my car. 

It was so dark I got confused and drove off the road into a gulley.    I asked God to help me and He did.  A couple drove by, saw my predicament and invited me into their house.  They called a wrecker and when it came, I went out to wait until they pulled my car out.  A young man seemed to appear out of nowhere and reassured me that I was going to be okay.  Once my car was out I asked the wrecker if I could follow him home to my house to light the road.  Once I got home I realized I didn’t have my garage door opener and had trouble finding my key because I had not left the porch light on.  I finally found it and I was able to get in and get some food and my medicine.  I began to feel much better and decided a couple of things.  First, God had been with me in my “wilderness” and helped me find the right people who could assist me.  Second, I vowed never to drive in the dark again.  Third, I vowed to pass on future Christmas Shows!