♪A Note of Thanks ♪ A Word of Hope – God is there for you!
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
Early, this Monday morning, with my normal routine, on my drive to work by 6:00 AM, I’m exiting off US Highway 280 East on the Cahaba Road Exit (Zoo Exit), slowing down to about 40 mph, whereupon just as it was getting daylight, a young lady was exiting from 280 West onto my two-lane exit. She had a yield sign that she did not observe and took a sharp left, headed on the road behind the Birmingham Zoo. I blew my truck horn and she stopped in the middle of the road directly in my path. With hardly no time to think, I saw that I was about to hit her broadside probably killing her and severely injuring me, I swerved to the left (thankfully, no vehicle was in the left lane) and ran onto the median missing within inches a large tree and jumping the curb back onto the pavement. She was so startled that she moved across to the median pavement. I backed up (that time of morning there’s hardly no traffic) and pulled along-side her car. I motioned for her to cross over to the service road behind the zoo. I pulled behind her, wrote down her tag number and got out of the truck walking slowly to her window. She said, “I wasn’t gonna leave you.” I said, “we could have both been killed, just now, but the Lord was watching after us.” I noticed that she had a GPS on her dashboard, purse on the passenger seat, and a Winn-Dixie badge with no name on it. I asked her name. She said, “Gina, uh…Regina.” I said, I noticed you were from Talladega County, based on your car tag showing 61. She said, “I am.” I asked, “Are you from Sylacauga?” She said, “Yes, I’m on my way to my first day of work, actually, to be trained at the Winn-Dixie in Fultondale.” She said, “I think I’ve made a wrong turn”… tears welling up in her eyes, she began to cry. I said, “there’s no need to call the police. We’re ok and not injured. Go down there and turn around. You can get back on the Red Mountain Expressway here and head towards downtown getting you to Fultondale. Will you be working there?” She said, “No, I’m training there and will be working in Chelsea.” I gave her my work card and said to “please be safe and to carefully watch when she makes left-hand turns. “ She replied, “Yes, sir.” She was probably in her late 20s. I noticed her car was very dusty. She probably lived way out in the country and had lost her way in her haste to get to her training.
There was sweat streaming down my shirt and pouring out on top of my head. I was shook up, but not shaken, thankful that there was not an accident and that no one was injured or killed. Time and again, we see where careless mistakes can cause fatalities in the twinkling of an eye. The Lord was with us this morning. His guardian angels were watching over us. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
So, as the Sanctuary Choir yesterday sang, “They Shall Soar Like Eagles”…that song, those words, arose in my mind and heart.
They Shall Soar Like Eagles
They shall soar like eagles; rise up and soar like eagles.
They who wait upon the Lord shall not be weary.
They shall never stumble, but gain new strength and power.
They who wait upon the Lord.
Those who are weary and burdened with sorrow
Need not despair there is hope for tomorrow.
God will be there each time you call on Him.
They shall soar like eagles; rise up and soar like eagles.
They who wait upon the Lord shall not be weary.
They shall never stumble, but gain new strength and power.
They who wait upon the Lord.
-Laura Manzo
So, my friend, if you are weary and burdened with sorrow, have hope, God is there for you! Remember He loves and cares for you! Recently, my friend, Ann Anderson, said, “Why do you end your devotions with ‘your friend?’ You’re my brother.” Yes, I’m your brother in the Lord, but I’m also, your friend. My friend, Debbie Pinson Bozeman, shared with me this Bible verse, back in college that has helped me through life: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15: 13
Dear Lord, thank you for your watch-care over your children. Thank you for seeing us through difficult times and protecting us through unexpected happenings in our life, especially when things can be tough. Amen.
As we serve along-side each other, I am…Your Friend,
Mark David Jackson
