"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in
whom I trust." (Ps 91:1-2 NIV)
We were now officially on our way back home. Our mood was somewhat subdued, for
we had grown to love New Brunswick during our brief stay. Besides, we had just
left behind good friends, and the only bright spot on the horizon was that we
still had one more two-day stop, in Caraquet, New Brunswick, before officially
leaving the province.
Our route took us through Miramichi, a city at the mouth of the Miramichi River.
The tour book described a delightful harbor. Just the perfect place to stop for
lunch. Besides, our water jugs were getting low, and surely a town this size
would have an Atlantic Superstore where we could refill them. With these
thoughts in mind, we pulled off Highway 11 at the Welcome Center to ask for
directions. We had barely parked our rig when the driver of the motor home
beside us opened his door to greet us. He had seen our Ontario plates, and he
gave our boys New Brunswick provincial pins, instantly dubbing them "Official
New Brunswickers". What a nice welcome to Miramichi!
Just five minutes down the road, however, our delight soured.
The town is divided by the Miramichi River, and the main highway, Highway 11,
transverses a long, arched bridge over the river. At the Welcome Center we had
been instructed to take the Water Street exit, the last exit from the highway
before the bridge, to find both the harbor and the Atlantic Superstore, and we
had dutifully complied. We then proceeded to drive several miles down Water
Street, but it didn't seem like we were coming into the town at all. In fact, we
were on what appeared to be a beautiful country drive along the river. Certainly
not the place to find an Atlantic Superstore! And through the fog, we were sure
we could make out a harbor-on the OTHER side of the river!
Disillusioned, we turned back. We were already starting to vocalize our
frustration about the poor directions and about getting lost when we arrived
back at the onramp to Highway 11, to find a backlog of cars waiting to get on
the highway. Needless to say, our less-than-ideal attitudes soured further when
we realized that the line wasn't moving at all. In fact, we could see several
police cars blocking the entrance to the bridge. The bridge was closed! Now
what?
We aren't exactly proud of the thoughts that were going through our minds at
this point, especially our thoughts about the lady who had obviously so
blatantly "misled" us, but after another 10 minutes of complaining, we realized
that this wasn't getting us anywhere and we pulled out the map of Miramichi.
There did seem to be another way to cross the river, and though it would take us
several kilometers out of our way, this seemed infinitely better than spending
the remainder of the day waiting in line for THIS bridge to reopen.
We pulled out of the line-up and proceeded down the road to the second bridge.
You can imagine our delight to see an Atlantic Superstore just over the bridge!
We could fill our empty water jugs after all!
As we drove back up the river towards Highway 11, the Miramichi Bridge soon came
into view. It was soon clear that the southbound vehicles had resumed their
crossing, but the northbound lane was blocked by a transport truck-an almost
completely blackened transport truck. One that obviously been on fire! We
couldn't tell if this had been the result of an accident, but it had clearly
been the cause for the temporary bridge closure!
That's when we realized that this incident must have happened just around the
time we would have been crossing the bridge if we hadn't taken our "scenic" trip
up the river in search of our phantom grocery store on Water Street! Our
frustrating excursion into nowhere land had kept us off the bridge! The false
instructions we had been given had saved us from being in the vicinity of that
transport truck when it burst into flames! It had all been in God's plan! He had
been doing what we had asked Him that morning to do: To protect us on the road!
In an instant, all of our frustration over getting lost, over not being able to
cross the river where we wanted to, over all the lost time, even our anger at
the lady in the Welcome Center who had "misdirected" us, melted into songs of
praise.
How often do we mutter and complain over circumstances that seem to go against
the flow we are intending to take? If only we could see the whole picture, we
would fall on our knees, thanking God for His guidance and protection. We never
have to lose sleep when we trust in the Lord. With Him in the driver's seat, we
can be assured that we will arrive safely at our destination. Isn't that
wonderful news?
Why does God care so much for us? The reason is obvious: He loves us! We are
important to Him! "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have
redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling." (Ex 15:13
NIV) In Him we can trust. He has our best interests at heart.
The next time you are tempted to be frustrated by your circumstances, praise God
instead of muttering. He may have just saved you from a catastrophe.
P. S. We would later learn that had we continued up Water Street, we would have
eventually come to the second bridge, the Atlantic Superstore, AND the harbor!
We hadn't been misdirected after all!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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