Um, which way is home?

The movie night had just finished and I was sitting in my car with the little overhead light turned on, squinting at a small piece of paper with directions. I had made it easily enough to a church member's home, following her directions carefully, and had enjoyed homemade cinnamon rolls, popcorn and apple cider with at least 75 to 100 people as we laughed and cried through "The Ultimate Gift." Now it was time to go home but it was dark and I was having a hard time reading my directions in reverse. I decided to follow one of the cars out to the freeway.

Well, the best laid plans don't always work out that great. I found myself at a stop light, the car I'd been following had sped off into the night much too fast for my little car to follow and the car behind me was turning right at the four-way stop. From what I could read of my directions, I had turned right when coming here, so it stood to reason that I should turn left. Hence I did so. About 3 minutes later, as I turned the corner and came upon a sign that said "Narrow Bridge Ahead," I immediately knew I was going the wrong direction. There had been no bridge on the way down.

I turned back around, came to the four-way stop, and carried on straight ahead. I found my next turn and made that smoothly. Now all that remained was taking this road until it hit the freeway. Except it didn't hit the freeway. Already nervous because it was dark and I was on a country road with lots of farmland and empty stretches of road, I began to worry. I wasn't sure I could even find my way back to the house I'd left, let alone make it to the freeway now. I began to pray rather fervently that God would help me make it home safely.

The road stretched on for miles, it seemed, but in reality it wasn't very long before I saw town lights in the distance. I knew I was getting close and decided to stay on the road I was on as it was headed in that general direction. Soon I hit a larger road going in to town, and turned on to that road behind a rather large tow truck. Remembering all the stories I had read as a child growing up about how God used various people, cars, trucks, and animals to show the way to those who were lost, I decided that God had sent this tow truck and I was going to follow it till I found the freeway.

We both entered town in a completely different area than I'd ever been before. The handful of times I'd been here before, I'd driven down the freeway to the heart of town where the church was located. I was still completely lost and nothing looked familiar. But I wasn't as worried this time because I was following the tow truck.

The truck made a left turn and I obediently turned on my blinker and made the same left turn. It made a right turn, a little ways after that, and I followed suit. After passing through several stop signs, I saw freeway lights ahead. The tow truck turned off to the right but I carried on until I hit the freeway. After making a U-turn, I headed home as fast as my little car would take me. A trip that would normally take about 40 to 45 minutes took me 30 minutes this time and I arrived home safe but slightly traumatized by the evening's experience. I resolved to either buy a GPS or print off return directions the next time I went anywhere unfamiliar.

When I think about how God led me back to exactly where I needed to be so I could make it home safely, I marvel. I know that part of it was because I used my brain and headed towards the town lights so I could get pointed in the right direction. I also know that part of it was because instinctively I knew that a tow truck would probably be heading towards a freeway or at least the more travelled areas of town. Yet God still guided me to get onto that first large road right behind that particular tow truck and He gave me the impression to follow that truck until I was on familiar ground again. Now that was pretty neat. Once again, He was looking out for me.