Technology is Great, BUT, it Still Can’t Beat Faith!

I’m sure we have all experienced them.

Those moments when we were filled with angst and needed God beside us. In those moments, I think we all remember to pray and ask God to be right there with us. The Amazing thing is, HE is! He is right there with us. He takes over and we surrender to Him, gladly!

You know what I mean, right? Those moments when we know, we know with all certainty, we are filled with immeasurable Hope, Faith and Belief! We know He not only exists, but He is right there, right there with us!

My most recent moment was this past week driving through Northern Ontario.

We had plotted our course earlier in the month from Western Canada to Toronto, and the GPS Navigator indicated this amazing shortcut through some Provincial Parks that hit 3 small towns.

The driving directions indicated that we would be on Hwy 667 for a while then for about some 40km. on local roads. These roads hit those 3 small towns and went through some Provincial Parks. Now, my Co-Navigator (who also happens to be my Spouse :)), figured that they’d be paved roads. They went to Provincial Parks and connected with a Highway, so why wouldn’t they be paved, right? WRONG!

Had it been 2-3 in the Afternoon, it would have been fine! Turns out though, it was my shift, the All-Nighter. I got to drive from Beautiful Wawa, Ontario to Sudbury, Ontario.

Why do I mention Wawa? Not only do I Love the name, but the people were SPLENDIDLY Kind and Friendly! A couple of OPP Officers even pulled us aside, just to chat! God Bless Them and Keep Them Safe! And so, I will always remember Wonderful Wawa.

As you have figured out by now, the roads were dark, lonely, had quite a bit of wildlife, and those local roads…yeah, NOT PAVED!! The paved parts I was not too worried about. I was driving slow. Very, very slow. You see, some of the local Wawa Folks, told us that there were A Lot of Moose up until the Montreal River. Well, I didn’t, and still don’t, know where the Montreal River was, but it sounded pretty far. I was averaging about 60km per hr. And yes, I saw Moose.

I had already been told by Hubby Dearest that a Moose can kill you if you hit it. After having seen a few in Alberta, in broad daylight, I can see why! These animals have no fear! I even got out of the vehicle to take their picture and they were quite calm, looking up right at me. That is, until I got too close, then a Mama Moose ran away with her Baby Twins. It was Beautiful!

Getting back to those lovely dirt roads…

Hwy 667 to 144 — Hwy 667 is that line that ends in Sultan. Hwy 144 is that line where Cartier is. The Notorious Dirt Road is the NON-EXISTENT area that connects the two.

When beat-up Hwy 667 finished, we were left with a big sign that stated something along the lines of, “Use at your own risk. Roads used by loggers.” Now, that is not verbatim. You have to cut me some slack here, it was about 2-3 AM. I was tense after having had to drive slowly on a not-so-great road that was pitch black. And our 1 year-old had woken up a couple of times and was not happy, to say the least. So, if I can’t recall exactly what the sign said, there is a good reason. 😉

The road looked treacherous! It was far from being smooth, much less even. There were huge rocks on the road. It looked as if the entire road was used over and over and over again by heavy machinery that bore its treads deep into the earth, thus leaving it severely choppy, potholed, rutted and uneven.

Now I could either go back the way I went and drive another 4-5 hours to Sault St. Marie or go forward for about 50 km. until I got to Hwy 144. I woke up my Co-Pilot, because, I am not afraid to admit, I was a tad shaken, and we trudged ahead.

It was so dark. It was so lonely. It was so gosh-darned BUMPY! My concern on this road was no longer, “Will I hit a Moose?” It was “Oh please, Lord, don’t let them wake-up!” There is nothing worse than 2 Baby Girls screaming at the top of their lungs on a dark, lonely, abandoned-looking road. Oh yeah, and I didn’t want to land in a pothole and mess up our vehicle. Neither did I want to drive over a jagged rock and get a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere. Yes, there were a few concerns weighing on my mind. It is as I write this that I realize that I never checked to see if we even had a cellphone signal! Niiiiiiice!

After driving for about 40 minutes, my hands and wrists were sore from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I had been praying for a while, but not as fervently as when it started raining! This dirt road with all its grooves could turn into a muddy trap! I prayed and prayed and asked Our Heavenly Father to take the wheel. I asked that it be Him and not I that be the one driving the vehicle. I couldn’t do it anymore. I didn’t want to do it anymore. It was raining. It was dark. It was bumpy, rocky and getting muddy. I would veer to the left, then immediately have to veer to the right due to a protruding jagged rock. I’d be on the right side and have to suddenly steer to the left because I was in danger of falling into a ditch. And no matter which way I went, it was all lumpy, bumpy, jerky, shaky and rough!

Then He answered my prayers. The vehicle felt lighter. It felt as if the stones, the grooves, no longer affected the tires. Instinctively I knew which way to steer. I upped my speed to 50 km per hr. I had been going about 20. I continued to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten me. Then I would ask Dios Padre to take over. I would ask Him to drive or to send one of His many angels and take us to safety. “Contigo todo, sin Ti, Nada.” I would repeat this over and over again. With You, all is possible, without You, Nothing!

He was there. I know it. I felt it. I saw it.

My tension and fear dissipated. The vehicle “flew” over this dirt road. Somehow, even though I saw those grooves, those stones, those potholes, I no longer felt them. I exited this dirt road about 30 minutes later averaging 60km/h. Yet, I did not drive. I was just a passenger, as were the rest of my Beloved Family.