Stranded
Can’t see much in the photo above? Neither could we. It was pitch dark and we were stranded.
It was a few days before Thanksgiving and Rusty and I were on our way back from Vicksburg, MS when the dreaded battery light illuminated on the dashboard. This was a surprise to us since we had just recently had the car in the shop for that very reason. The alternator was checked, and it was diagnosed as only needing a new battery. A brand-new Interstate battery was installed and for two weeks there were no issues. However, circumstances changed on this night as we were left stranded 20 miles south of Pine Bluff on an extremely dark night.
If you've ever traveled Hwy 65, you know that there are long stretches of nothing but farmland south of Pine Bluff. Of course, that's exactly where our car would decide to take its last breath and leave of sitting with not even enough energy to illuminate the hazard lights. Thankfully, law enforcement pulled in behind us to keep us safe as we waited for the tow truck to arrive.
As I stood on the side of the road assessing the situation, I thought... well, here's a good story to tell. Rusty's thoughts were a little different. As he assessed the situation, he was already telling me to start shopping for another car because this one had a good many miles on it and repairs were becoming more frequent. The next day when talking to a friend, she said that she just knew there would be a blog coming soon about the incident and how it linked to Paul being stranded on the island of Malta.
As I made another trip to Mississippi this past weekend in my “new to me” vehicle and passed the area where we had broken down, I thought about what my friend, Vicki, had said that day and this is what developed…
In Acts 28, we’re told of Paul’s shipwreck on the way to Rome. The ship had landed on an island determined to be Malta. There, the crew and prisoners were stranded but were also blessed to encounter friendly strangers. Our circumstances weren’t nearly as dire as Paul’s. We weren’t hungry prisoners and thankfully no snakes were involved, but I thought of the similarities in the situation. We stood in the pitch dark that night but were helped by the friendly, local deputy who not only kept us safe with his blue lights but also tried to assist Rusty in finding the issue. When he received another call and had to leave, a state trooper took his place until the tow truck arrived. The truck driver was kind and allowed us to ride in his truck to the repair shop where our car was being dropped off. The tow company owner happened to have a brother who was a mechanic that was able to fix the issue in just enough time for my mom and my nephew to pick the car up on their way through for Thanksgiving. Not to mention, Kristine and James being gracious enough to drive two hours to pick us up and then take us home that night. As many things that went wrong, there were more that went right. We were blessed to have the help of our family and strangers.
Paul and the others were in a bad situation, but he never lost faith in his Lord who gave him instructions on how to handle the unfortunate circumstances and blessed them along the way. They were treated with "unusual kindness" by the islanders and even provided with the supplies they needed to finish the journey.
When we find ourselves in situations that seem difficult, stressful, or even unfair, do we look at all of the things that went wrong? Or do we look for the ways we have been blessed and stay steadfast in our faith to the One who is faithful?
Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all.... Acts 28:1-2 NIV (Full story in Acts chapters 27 & 28)
Great Is Thy Faithfulness - Chris Rice
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