“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
It was a warm, sunny Friday afternoon when my husband, Dan, loaded up two wagons with corn and hitched them to the tractor for the ride to the Reading elevator. About 550 bushels of the yellow grain, neatly settled in for the twelve mile trek south. Nothing out of the ordinary, just part of the tasks for the day in between cutting hay and mowing the lawn yet another time. He came to the house and told me is was taking off, and so it was.
About an hour later, I noticed him coming up the lane, but this time minus the wagons. Huh? Now what happened..flat tire? I ventured outside to meet him coming up the lane, and when he got out of the tractor and came toward me, his eyes met mine and he said, “ God is good. God is so good.” When we share that with each other, it usually means there is more to the story. So I was listening.
About half way to Reading, he felt a bump in the road. As he glanced into the tractor mirror he saw something he wasn’t expecting. Both of the wagons, still connected to each other, were no longer attached to the tractor! What in the world…He saw them both heading toward the steep ditch, like the blind leading the blind. He could only envision them toppling over, crashing to the ground, with corn spilling into the oncoming bean field and ditch. He also noticed a semi coming up behind him, slowing down to let this scene unfold.
What happened next was nothing short of God’s goodness and a miracle. As the wagons proceeded into the ditch, still clinging to each other, not only did they remain upright, but no more than a bushel and a half of corn spilled out! They came to rest and sat there. By this time the driver of the semi was walking towards Dan and asked him what happened. Dan told him he had no idea, as he had not even stepped down from the tractor yet. Together they searched out some kind of explanation. What they found was that the swinging drawbar belly pin of the tractor had fallen out of position and was laying on the road. Another smaller holding pin had “let go” because of years of use.
Dan returned home with the drawbar and belly pin to build it up with the welder. Within a few minutes he returned to the wagons. Once he had secured the drawbar to the tractor, would you believe he simply (and carefully!) just drove them out the ditch and finished the trip to the elevator? As the wagons were unloading, Dan shared with Glenn Crowley, the elevator manager, the crazy events. He told Dan with that kind of luck, he probably should plan a trip to Flandreau! In a more serious note, they agreed it was simply the good Lord and his watch care.
Two days later, early on Sunday evening, I was traveling on the little gravel road, 190th, north of Reading, to pick up my husband so he could come home for the evening milking chores. We had been gone all day to church and then visiting with some good friends in the afternoon. We had parted ways in Worthington for a couple hours while he went with a group of men from the church to help out a family. Because it was getting late, I volunteered to just come pick him up and head home. After all, we only lived a few more miles north of 190th.
The plan sounded good, but wasn’t to be. About a mile from meeting Dan, I was involved with another car in an accident. By the time my car came to rest in a ditch, I was uttering to myself those same words..” God is good. God is so good.” I realized that I had never lost consciousness, I wasn’t bleeding, I could see the cell phone of the floor, and I had the strength to unbuckle my seatbelt to reach the phone and call Dan for help.
While I waited I glanced over to the passenger side of the car. It was pretty much destroyed, and I realized that Ashley could have been sitting there. She is young lady that had ridden to church with us earlier in the day, but we had taken her home before our afternoon activities. I will always be thankful for that. As I slowly made my way out of the car and peered toward the back seat, I saw a brightly colored picture that Ashley had given us just that morning. It was one of the few items in the car that was not broken, scattered, or covered with debris. She had made it for us, and it read, “ Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9
I want to thank you for all of the prayers, phone calls, and cards of love that you have sent my way over these past ten days or so. My dad always told me, it is not so much what you know, but who you know that matters. And being in such a small, caring community affords us the blessing of knowing so many of you. May God bless you for all the ways you reach out to those around you in this journey called life.
lbeerman68@gmail.com
