Rodney Strange's Blog - Posts Tagged "blog-post"
When A Dust Devil Blows Through Your Life...
Shortly after September 11, 2001...
I pressed the gas pedal to the floor as I passed the city limit sign, heading north. Along the highway burning Army jeeps, tanks, and transport trucks littered the landscape. I dodged the crators left by bombs dropped from aircraft only minutes earlier, trying to keep the pickup on the tattered roadway. The landscape around me was cluttered by countless fires and black smoke that plumed it's way into the darkened sky. I could see more bombs exploding ahead of me in the direction I was heading. My frantic mind tried to form some sort of plan of action...rather a reasonable reaction to what was occuring all around me as I sped toward my destination. The devastation seemed less intense as I reached open country and I clenched my teeth as determination to achieve my goal pushed me forward. As I neared the city some thirty minutes later, more destruction became evident...burning homes and barns, more destroyed Army vehicles...and the bombing. The deafening sounds seemed to shake the ground beneath my truck. When I reached a tiny suburb of the city, my eyes widened in horror. Thick smoke billowed through the air and the highway in front of me...disappeared. I swerved the vehicle into a ditch as my feet pressed the brake pedal to the floor. Before the truck came to a complete stop, I had leaped into the bed of the truck, shoving a four-wheeler out onto the ground with such force that only an over-dose of adrenaline could justify. I jumped onto the ATV and headed across country, dodging smouldering crators as enemy aircraft flew overhead. My destination: The buring city before me. My mission: To save my young daughter.
I awoke from the dream in a sweat, panting heavily, my heart pounding in my chest. It would prove to be the dream that never left my memory.
A few Days ago...
I reached for my phone and viewed the incoming text. It read simply, "Daddy, I need you!"
I leaped in my pickup and headed north. As I entered the city limits of my small community, I came to a screeching halt. A road construction project had traffic backed up as if I had entered the Los Angeles Freeway. I sat at a dead standstill for a few seconds, then swerved into the McDonalds parking lot, hitting a side street that would take me out of town. As I passed the north city limt sign, my eyes caught sight of a funeral procession ahead of me. My foot hit the brake as I turned the vehicle onto a county road. I gave the truck free rein as it sped toward the city forty miles away. The miles and the minutes seemed to tick by in slow motion as my mind raced. My eyes focused on a west Texas dust devil spinning through a cotton field up ahead, a common sight in this part of the country. The day was near perfect, not so hot for Texas in September, not a breeze, not a cloud in the sky. Yet this phenomena, a 'dust-nado' as the weatherman would call it, bounced haphazardly through the landscape, kicking up dust and swirling debris high into the sky, in effect disrupting a perfect late summer afternoon for anything or anyone caught in it's path as it spun out of control. I pondered the mystery and a thought stuck in my mind. As of late, my life has been good...near perfect as life can get, I suppose. With this unexpected text from my child, a dust devil has suddenly appeared, it's spiraling wind of change threatening someone so dear to my heart. My mind wondered if this unexpected 'dust-nado' would pass only briefly through her life, or would it leave a trail of destruction.
As I reached the outer edges of the city, I found myself at a crawl as a combination of more road construction and rush hour traffic hampered my progress. The dream from long ago passed through my mind and I bit my lip, wishing I had a four-wheeler in the bed of my truck. Finally, I pulled up in front of my daughter's house and made the few quick steps to her door. Seconds later, I held her in my arms as I whispered, with the reassurance that only a father can give, "I'm here..."
As we pass the twelvth anniversary of 9/11, our memory of that horrific event in New York city becomes dim in our minds. Sure, we will all take a moment sometime during the day to stop and remember. But let's not forget that there are tragedies and devastation in lives everyday. Every single minute of every single day someone experiences a life changing event...a dust devil that swoops down for nowhere completely unexpected...and changes a life forever.
When events of tragic proportions blow through your life, or the life of one you love, never forget there is Someone who stands ready to wrap His arms around you and whisper, with the reassurance that only a Father can give, "I'm here..." God is always just one prayer away from coming to get you through the dust devils that blow through your life.
I pressed the gas pedal to the floor as I passed the city limit sign, heading north. Along the highway burning Army jeeps, tanks, and transport trucks littered the landscape. I dodged the crators left by bombs dropped from aircraft only minutes earlier, trying to keep the pickup on the tattered roadway. The landscape around me was cluttered by countless fires and black smoke that plumed it's way into the darkened sky. I could see more bombs exploding ahead of me in the direction I was heading. My frantic mind tried to form some sort of plan of action...rather a reasonable reaction to what was occuring all around me as I sped toward my destination. The devastation seemed less intense as I reached open country and I clenched my teeth as determination to achieve my goal pushed me forward. As I neared the city some thirty minutes later, more destruction became evident...burning homes and barns, more destroyed Army vehicles...and the bombing. The deafening sounds seemed to shake the ground beneath my truck. When I reached a tiny suburb of the city, my eyes widened in horror. Thick smoke billowed through the air and the highway in front of me...disappeared. I swerved the vehicle into a ditch as my feet pressed the brake pedal to the floor. Before the truck came to a complete stop, I had leaped into the bed of the truck, shoving a four-wheeler out onto the ground with such force that only an over-dose of adrenaline could justify. I jumped onto the ATV and headed across country, dodging smouldering crators as enemy aircraft flew overhead. My destination: The buring city before me. My mission: To save my young daughter.
I awoke from the dream in a sweat, panting heavily, my heart pounding in my chest. It would prove to be the dream that never left my memory.
A few Days ago...
I reached for my phone and viewed the incoming text. It read simply, "Daddy, I need you!"
I leaped in my pickup and headed north. As I entered the city limits of my small community, I came to a screeching halt. A road construction project had traffic backed up as if I had entered the Los Angeles Freeway. I sat at a dead standstill for a few seconds, then swerved into the McDonalds parking lot, hitting a side street that would take me out of town. As I passed the north city limt sign, my eyes caught sight of a funeral procession ahead of me. My foot hit the brake as I turned the vehicle onto a county road. I gave the truck free rein as it sped toward the city forty miles away. The miles and the minutes seemed to tick by in slow motion as my mind raced. My eyes focused on a west Texas dust devil spinning through a cotton field up ahead, a common sight in this part of the country. The day was near perfect, not so hot for Texas in September, not a breeze, not a cloud in the sky. Yet this phenomena, a 'dust-nado' as the weatherman would call it, bounced haphazardly through the landscape, kicking up dust and swirling debris high into the sky, in effect disrupting a perfect late summer afternoon for anything or anyone caught in it's path as it spun out of control. I pondered the mystery and a thought stuck in my mind. As of late, my life has been good...near perfect as life can get, I suppose. With this unexpected text from my child, a dust devil has suddenly appeared, it's spiraling wind of change threatening someone so dear to my heart. My mind wondered if this unexpected 'dust-nado' would pass only briefly through her life, or would it leave a trail of destruction.
As I reached the outer edges of the city, I found myself at a crawl as a combination of more road construction and rush hour traffic hampered my progress. The dream from long ago passed through my mind and I bit my lip, wishing I had a four-wheeler in the bed of my truck. Finally, I pulled up in front of my daughter's house and made the few quick steps to her door. Seconds later, I held her in my arms as I whispered, with the reassurance that only a father can give, "I'm here..."
As we pass the twelvth anniversary of 9/11, our memory of that horrific event in New York city becomes dim in our minds. Sure, we will all take a moment sometime during the day to stop and remember. But let's not forget that there are tragedies and devastation in lives everyday. Every single minute of every single day someone experiences a life changing event...a dust devil that swoops down for nowhere completely unexpected...and changes a life forever.
When events of tragic proportions blow through your life, or the life of one you love, never forget there is Someone who stands ready to wrap His arms around you and whisper, with the reassurance that only a Father can give, "I'm here..." God is always just one prayer away from coming to get you through the dust devils that blow through your life.
