Flood of Blessing

 

Flooded Road

The rain poured down all night long as the Retired Chief Master Sergeant and wife listened to the storm rage.  Sleep would not come for many hours as the flashes of lightning and nearly immediate booms of thunder rattled the windowpanes in their home.  The children were scared and needed to be comforted until at last they all fell asleep.

As the sun arose in the east, the last traces of the evening's storms faded with the rising sun.  The whippoorwill, the Bart owl and the old rooster signaled that a new day was dawning.  The Sergeant and wife got up and began their daily chores about the farm.

After completing his morning chores, the Chief stepped into the front yard to survey the damage of the evening's storm.  Limbs and leaves covered the yard that was still mushy from the several inch rain that had been dumped on them during the evening.  As he trudged through the mush toward the highway in front of his house, he noticed in the distance a strange sight.  The creek that ran beside his property and underneath the highway just a quarter mile away had swollen beyond its banks during the night and had risen well above the bridge and up the highway for a hundred yards in either direction making the highway impassable for traffic.

As he stood staring at the sight, he heard a car coming down the highway toward him from the opposite direction from the creek.  He stepped to the shoulder of the road to flag the driver and warn him of the danger that lay ahead.  As the car approached, he flagged with his hand.  The driver slowed and then saw the reason for the warning.  The driver pulled up beside him and stopped the car.

"You're not going to be able to get down the road for awhile until the water runs down some," he said to the young, female driver who had several children in the car with her.  "Why don't y'all come inside and we'll fix you some breakfast."

The young lady reluctantly agreed, pulled up to the house and all of them bailed out.  The Retired Chief introduced himself to her and she said, "My name is Milly."  They all went inside and soon made themselves at home while their breakfast was prepared for them.

Milly stood to get more coffee and noticed a prescription medicine bottle that belonged to the Sergeant which he had gotten filled at the Barksdale Air Force Base.  She said, "Oh, were you in the Air Force?", to which he replied, "Yes, I was."

"My Father was in the Air Force, too!  He just passed away a couple of years ago," she added.

"Was your Dad in World War II?" the Chief asked.

"Yes, he served in North Africa for awhile."

"So did I." The Chief asked, "What was his name?"

"His name was Wilson Evans and he was a Master Sergeant," she added proudly.

A shockwave hit Terrell as he remembered the night that he stepped into his tent to find his friend, Master Sergeant Wilson Evans sitting on his bed with a pistol cocked and placed against his own temple about to pull the trigger.  He prayed, "Lord, help me to say the right thing" then stepped slowly to Wilson and asked him for the German Luger that he had bought for a keepsake.  He spoke with him in a soft tone and extended his hand.  Wilson slowly dropped the gun from his head and placed it into the Chief's hand.

Words were spoken by the Chief, reminding him of the lovely wife and daughter that he had at home who anxiously awaited his return.  He reminded him of the God who loved him and he prayed with him.  He continued to encourage him and pray for the rest of their time together during the war.  Having lost touch with him after the war, the Chief never knew how everything had turned out for Evans.  Now his daughter and grandchildren sat with their feet underneath his table as she told of how great a man that she had for a father.

As the creek ran down swiftly and the breakfast was finished, the Chief walked the little family out to their car and bid them farewell.  What had seemed to be a minor inconvenience had been the opportunity for God to shower down a major blessing on him, reminding him of how it always pays to love others as we love ourselves.  You never know what it might mean to the other person.  It just might save their life and bless the lives of countless others.

God does in many ways create situations that will change our bad decisions into his own blessings for us.  In others words, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."  Rom 8:28