Revelation 4:8
The Voice (VOICE)
8 All day and night they were singing.
Four Living Creatures: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God who
is the All Powerful, who was, and who is, and who is coming.
One Saturday night our family had been playing games and
enjoying a fun time together. About midnight the phone rang. I answered it,
wondering who might be calling that late.
“This is Officer Joseph[i]
from Richfield, Utah, Police Department. Do you know Elvin Oblander?”
“Yes,” I replied guardedly.
“PRAISE GOD!” He exclaimed excitedly, a huge amount of
relief in his voice.
“How do you know him?”
“He’s my wife’s uncle.” Again I said this cautiously.
“PRAISE GOD!” with even greater fervor.
Officer Joseph went on to tell me that they had found Elvin
driving the wrong way down the I-70 freeway. They had taken him in, given him a
drink of water, and then started him back onto the freeway. He headed down the
right direction but began weaving back and forth across lanes in a haphazard
way. This time they felt they couldn’t let him drive further for his own safety
as well as that of others. They had asked him whom he knew, and he couldn’t
remember a single person’s name, just that he had a sister. They searched his car
and pockets and found lots of pieces of paper.
Officer Joseph had called everyone whose name they found on any
of these pieces of paper. Either the person didn’t pick up the phone or claimed
they didn’t know him. Finally he found a piece of paper where Sylvia had written
her name and phone number (minus area code) and personally put it in his
pocket.
I explained how Elvin was exhibiting the early stages of
Alzheimer’s disease. But he had seemed to be able to get around just fine. He
had been invited to the reunion of a nursing class whom he had befriended and taken
on outings in his car many years previously. The added pressure of extremely
high temperatures and his not drinking enough must have accentuated his
problems.
“You understand we can’t let him drive anymore. Is there any
way you could come and get him?” Officer Joseph inquired.
I asked him how far Richfield was from Riverside and then
did a quick calculation in my head. It was roughly a 24 hour round trip. If we
left right then and drove all night we would get to Richfield by about noon.
Allowing a couple hours to get him and his car and eat lunch, we could be home
by about two o’clock Monday morning. I had to teach at eight o’clock that
morning. So it was doable. Sylvia would have to go with me to drive Elvin’s
car.
“Yes, we can do it.”
“PRAISE GOD!” This was at least the eighth time he had
praised God. Once we learned more details of his trip and the mishaps along the
way, we too praised God for Elvin’s safety.
Praise God! for looking
after His own, especially when they are suffering from dementia and heat
stroke.
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