Where Two Ways Met

The boys were so excited and happy as we shopped all day before our Doctor appointment at three that afternoon. My husband Charlie had the job of keeping them busy while I picked out gifts to put under the tree. We had purchased new coats, gloves, and snow boots for both boys and a pram suit for our little daughter. Charlie and I also had new warm winter coats. Our car was piled with gifts and food in the trunk and our old coats were in the back seat with the boys.

My wait was much longer than expected as the doctor had been called to an emergency at the hospital earlier in the day. I came out of the office to face a terrible snowstorm. The blizzard conditions were growing worse all the time. My husband was concerned as to our making it back to our country home about seven miles from town. He thought about us staying in a motel for the night and then decided we would try to make it home.

Half way there we found the road was drifted so deep it drowned our car and we sat stranded in the road. Charlie got out and began the long walk to our home. He was going to bring our big truck back and pull the car home with it. There was nothing we could do but wait in the car.

I told stories and we sang nursery rhymes for what seemed like hours. I was getting more worried by the minute but did not want the children to know I was so scared. Finally my youngest son John who was three climbed over into the front seat beside me and said, "Mommy, my daddy is gonna freeze to death out there. And we will freeze too." I said "No John, Daddy will be coming with the truck soon!" But the darkness and blowing snow was covering our car and made it impossible to see anything outside.

John climbed over into the back seat and knelt down on the floorboard of the car. He prayed, "Jesus you take care of my daddy and send someone to take us home, amen." Then he got up and put his face against the back window and looked through a small hole where the snow had blown off. In just a very few minutes he exclaimed, "Momma there is a car coming to get us! See, I knew Jesus would send someone to get us!"

I heard the old pickup stop right beside us and I had to kick the frozen car door open to make him hear me as the window would not roll down. The man said "My Lord Lady do you have children in there with you?"

I answered "Yes! I have two boys - three and four years old and a year old little girl and my baby who is only six weeks old."

He began throwing his Christmas gifts and groceries in the back of the old pickup and helped me carry the children to put in the cab. He scooped and scooped again. We met my husband walking toward us about a mile ahead. He had called everyone he knew to come get us and they had all told him they would after the storm let up. Our truck that he had gone to get was parked in another little town by my brother who had used it that day.

The man told us he had lived out in that part of the country all his life but had never taken that road to go home before. He said, "Why I would take a strange road in such a storm is beyond me. But when I got to the crossroads back there I just felt I needed to come that way." He said he would have passed us by if I had not gotten the door kicked open because he thought there was no one in the car. He took us to our door and then had to stay with a neighbor because he could not make it to his own home. Every Christmas we always made it a point to wish Mr. Glascox a Merry Christmas and thank him for his gift of his decision he made - "Where Two Ways Met."

The next day we found our car had been plowed around on each side by the snow plow. We had been right in the middle of the road, our little car completely covered with frozen snow.

[ by Leona Ebling, copyright © 2002 (wwjdleona@aol.com) -- from '2TheHeart' ]