When God Provides

Today, I had to drive somewhere I'd never driven by myself.

If it wasn't to fulfil a commitment I'd made, I'm sure I would've found lots of excuses not to go.

So I did what I could: I checked Melway, looked up the Street Directory website to make sure I had the most current map, and prayed a simple prayer as I got behind the wheel.

Whenever I drive someplace new, I always feel like I'm holding my breath the whole way through. That's how anxious I get. I'm also beset by a variety of obstacles: inexperience, poor hand-eye-foot coordination, slow reflexes, slow brain. None are helpful when you need to drive and navigate.

Near Thames Boulevard on Heaths Road, I looked into the rearview mirror and found a white car tailgating me.

There's nothing that makes me more nervous than a car following too closely.

The driver in question was unfortunate to be behind me on a single-lane road. I couldn't pull over to let him overtake, the road was that narrow.

It took me a while to shake off the sense that I was holding him up. I tried accelerating, but ended up going over the 70 kmh mark, so I had to slow down again. I wonder what he must have been thinking while stuck behind me.

As I stressed about road signs and whether I was headed in the right direction, a funny thought came to me. It might have been a way to combat all that stress, but I wondered: what if the driver was a guardian angel sent by God to ensure I got to Manor Lakes?

And you know what was even stranger?

Just as I went through the last section of Ballan Road and approached the entrance to Manor Lakes, I glanced into my rearview mirror and the white car that had tailed me all the way along Heaths Road...was gone.

Something similar happened on the way home.

I'd read the map, knew what landmarks to look out for, but was still nervous about getting home safely.

As I got on to Ballan Road, a blue 4WD tailed me. This time, I wasn't as stressed. I just thought: thanks God, another guardian angel! The blue 4WD followed me all the way along Ballan Road and half of Heaths Road. By this time I'd gotten my bearings and knew I was close to home. I signalled to switch to the left lane, expecting the 4WD to overtake now I was out of his way. The driver chose not to, and maintained his speed so that I was able to see him way behind in the right lane as I prepared to turn into Barber Drive and home.

God had heard and God had answered - in His own special way. Thank you Lord.