Why Coso Junction Rest Area?

[1]

Proverbs 3:6 King James Version

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

 

We had planned to take a trip to the north during this month of August. Sylvia has a brother who lives in Washington, and I have three cousins there. Besides that, we have a number of relatives and friends along the way. We laid out an itinerary and phoned the people we planned to visit. Remarkably, they were all going to be home and welcomed us to stop with them.

We debated whether to take our Ford F150 pickup or our Kia Forte sedan. Sylvia was anxious to take the car—it is very comfortable and interfaces well with our phones, and gas mileage is at least a factor of two better than the pickup. I love the car, but for traveling purposes I love the F150. We have a cap on the back and a comfortable bed that is always ready for us to just climb into. We can park it anywhere, and that becomes our home! One night a couple weeks ago, in our Forte, we pushed the seats back and stretched out to see if we could sleep in the Forte. Sylvia did pretty well; I finally drifted off to sleep about 2:00 a.m. The Forte trunk size is ample so that we don’t need to place any of our luggage on the back seat. That way we could stretch out the front seats without having to find room for the baggage behind them. We agreed to take the Forte.

When I rolled out of bed Monday morning, August 5, the day of our planned departure, I said to the Lord, “You know that I haven’t really talked to You about this trip. Bless us on the highway! Speak through us as we talk with our loved ones in route. May we be a blessing to them.” Then I thought a bit and prayed further, “If You want us to not take this trip, let us know. If you want us to see other people on the trip that I don’t have on our itinerary, we’ll gladly adjust our itinerary.” This increased my confidence as we packed the car, dropped off Katie with our son Fred and his wife Uni and their big dog Oso, and headed north.

The day was hot, about 105º F (40º C), as we filled up with gas and headed up the Cajon Pass and then north on US 395—dubbed locally as the Suicide Highway. By the time we reached the summit of the pass, the temperature had also risen to 114º F (45º C). The Forte has a much better A/C than the F150, and it ate up the miles while keeping us in comfort. Well past the suicide part of the highway, we came to the Coso Junction Rest Area. We stopped for the bathrooms. We usually walk around the rest areas to get a bit of exercise but didn’t here; it was still 111º. We had pulled out our map and were examining it when my phone rang.

 It was my ENT specialist, Dr de Jager: “I’ve just gotten one of your lab reports. You’ve got Staphylococcus Aureus. It has probably coupled with your MRSA. You need to get to the emergency room.”

“I’m 168 miles (270 km) away from home in the middle of the Mojave Desert.” As I said it, I remembered the prayer of the morning.

“Well, I feel that it is very important that you get attention right away. Find a hospital or urgent care nearby and go to the ER.”

Almost the closest was Riverside Community Hospital at home. If I was going to be hospitalized, I wanted it to be near home. It was 5:00 p.m. We turned around and headed home. I was exhausted and asked Sylvia to drive for a while. Sensing the urgency, she headed down the road at break neck speed. After about 50 miles of that, I traded places with her and headed home as though we were just traveling normally. It was 9:00 p.m. when we pulled into the hospital, and they threatened to admit me. Around 2:00 a.m. they gave me a script and told me to go home.

The net result is that we have postponed our trip north—indefinitely. By the next day I was feeling significantly worse and am happy that the Lord indicated what He wanted us to do.

Thank You, Lord, for taking an active part in my life. Now I pray that You will help me lick this disease.

 

 

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[1] At Coso Junction CA. The Sierra Nevada Mountains on the left have Mt. Whitney, Highest point in the lower 48 states; https://igx.4sqi.net/img/general/600x600/2226492_O7xexnk_dUZWCf9iIyKR_BeU1OLTSmFE3gJkUPpMQmM.jpg

God Does Speak to Us Directly

Habakkuk 2:2

King James Version (KJV)

² And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

For years I envied Abraham. When he wanted to know something he simply asked God and God answered him. That was simple enough! I wished God would answer me when I desperately needed to know which way to go. As time went by for me, I began to sense that in reality God wasn’t right there at Abraham’s beck and call. We only have record of three or four times when God actually spoke to Abraham. Abraham lived about 180 years, so on the average he received an answer from God about once every 45 years. And, of course, I have an advantage Abraham did not have: the sacred Scriptures that record God’s answers to others.

My wife, Sylvia, and I have been collecting letters we wrote from Africa over the years we were serving as missionaries there. The other day I ran across a letter I wrote on April 30, 1979. It addressed God’s response to an issue we had faced for over a year.

Soon after we married, we committed our lives to be missionaries to Africa. We enjoyed our work and stay in Africa and loved the people we worked with there. The issue at that time involved our furlough home to the U.S. coming due in 1979. Complications had arisen that were demanding our attention but were beyond our ability to solve. We asked the Lord to clearly indicate to us whether we should return to the U.S. permanently or return to Africa for another term. The Lord provided a double response in January that He clearly wanted us to permanently return to the U.S.

Sometimes the Lord has to hit me up the side of my head with a two-by-four to catch my attention. Both Sylvia and I wanted to remain in Africa, so we laid plans to continue to stay there. But this decision weighed very heavily on my mind. It seemed to me that I was ignoring God’s clear word, and I could gain no rest. Matters came to a head on Friday, April 27. That evening His response was as clear as if a voice spoke audibly to me. It said in the tone of absolute authority and gentle reproof, “I already told you!” I sensed I had been proceeding in a path of open rebellion to what God had personally revealed to me.

That is the closest I have ever come to sensing that God was speaking directly to me. I thank the Lord of heaven and earth for stooping to communicate with someone as insignificant as I. The other day as I read that 1979 letter to her, I asked Sylvia how she felt about our decision to return permanently to the U.S. at that time. She agreed with me that it has certainly been the best for us and our family.

Thank You, almighty Lord, Creator of our vast universe, for being sufficiently interested in each one of us to be willing to guide us when we really need You.

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