I first met Bob and Audrey Meisner when they invited me into their kitchen
following a television program. I'd been on in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada. If you've never been to Winnipeg, well ...don't go for the scenery. Go
for the people. Winnipeg has two seasons: winter and mosquitoes. As we ate some
of the finest spaghetti and meatballs this side of Italy, I listened to one of
the funniest stories I'd heard in a long time. A story often punctuated by
Audrey's contagious laughter (which three young children have only enhanced) and
Bob's soft chuckle. Audrey is glad for that chuckle. As she puts it, "If Bob had
no chuckle, I'd be in as much trouble as...well, as a person who's in a lot of
trouble."
After the first few minutes of their story, I began to understand why.
Thanksgiving weekend began the way the Meisners had planned. Piling a full-size
van high with mattresses, sleeping bags, and children, they drove one thousand
miles through the flatlands of Manitoba to the in-laws in Michigan. It was a
beautiful trip. Patchwork prairies sprinkled with lakes stretched toward the
horizon. Bare poplar branches seemed to hold up their arms in surrender to
winter. The children counted V-shaped columns of Canada geese deserting their
homeland and heading for Florida. Neither Bob nor Audrey knew that the beauty of
the first leg of their trip would stand in sharp contrast to the journey home.
The weekend was filled with relatives. And turkey. And lots of laughter. On
Sunday night they said their good-byes and headed for home. Leaving at 11:00
P.M., they drove through the night, arriving in Minneapolis about 8:30 the next
morning. Though Mom and Dad were tired, the Mall of America beckoned, and it was
many hours before they watched the skyline of the Twin Cities disappear in the
rearview mirror as they drove toward the setting sun. When Audrey offered to
drive, Bob clambered toward the back, where he disappeared behind some sleeping
bags and drifted off to sleep.
An hour and a half later, Audrey pulled into a rest stop as quietly as she
could, hoping the family would sleep on. She let the engine idle and noticed how
it seemed to be missing a cylinder, which made her think of Bob's snoring coming
from the back of the van.
After using the restroom. Audrey climbed back into the van, stirred some coffee,
took a long sip, and pulled back onto the freeway. Two hours passed quickly as
she tapped her fingers to a country gospel station and spun the dial sampling
talk shows. When she arrived in Fargo, North Dakota, the kids began to wake up.
But not Bob. Wow, he's tired, thought Audrey. Thank God for Colombian coffee.
Her seven-year-old. Appeared in the rearview mirror, rubbing his eves. "Go back
to sleep, honey," said his mom.
Suddenly the peacefulness of the early morning was shattered. "Where's Daddy?"
"Very funny," said Audrey, adjusting the rearview mirror. "He's back there
sleeping ...isn't he?"
The children began pushing pillows aside, looking for Daddy. "Nope," said her
seven-year-old, "he's not back here."
"Do you think maybe he got raptured? You know, Mom, like you've been talking
about when Jesus comes to get us?"
But Audrey wasn't laughing. Panic, worry, and fear overtook her as she looked
for the next exit. Should she turn around and go back? She had no idea where the
rest area was. Was it two hours ago? Three? "Calm down, Audrey," she told
herself. "Dear Lord," she prayed, "help me find Bob. And please keep him safe,
wherever he is."
Pulling into a truck stop, she stopped at a pay phone and called the police.
"Um... I. .. uh...left my husband in Minnesota," she told the officer.
"At...well ...at a rest stop." There was a moment of silence. "Sorry, could you
repeat that?"
After a few minutes punctuated by desperation, Audrey was able to convince him
that this was no joke, that she had left her husband, but not intentionally,
although he might be thinking so.
"Tell you what," said the state patrol officer, "you hang on. I'll get the
numbers of all the rest stops in that area. You don't go anywhere now, ya hear?"
Audrey didn't go anywhere.
After thanking the officer for his help, she started down the list. One number
after another. Each phone call was met with surprise, but no success. Almost out
of hope, she dialed the very last number on the list. "Do you have a guy there
who-?"
"Yah, I shore do," said a thick Norwegian accent.
Moments later, Bob was on the phone. "Honey... I'm so sorry," said Audrey. "I
didn't mean to-" Audrey started to cry. And Bob started to laugh.
Two hours earlier he had climbed out of the van to use the restroom. But when he
came back, the van was gone. "Ha," said Bob out loud. "Very funny." He walked
around the service area three times, expecting to find them grinning around the
next corner. But they were nowhere to be found. "She wouldn't leave me like
this," said Bob even louder. "Would she?"
To pass the time, Bob spent the hours washing people's windshields and praying
that God would speak loudly to his wife, perhaps give her a flat tire or
something. He even climbed in with a trucker who needed some spiritual
encouragement. "You know," the trucker told Bob, "this time with you was a
divine appointment. I really needed this."
"Dear God," prayed Bob, "please, no more divine apppointments tonight." Early
the next morning, Bob watched the headlights of a very familiar van pull into
the rest stop. He stopped cleaning windshields and breathed a huge sigh of
relief. It was a return trip for Audrey. But this time she honked the horn
loudly, not caring whom she woke up. "It's the first time I ever left him," she
laughs now. "Believe me, it will be the last."
"We've had plenty of chuckles over this one," says Bob past a broad smile. "At
first I wondered if the Rapture had taken place too. It was like something out
of a horror movie. But then I thought, Well, make the most of it. So I did.
Sometimes the only thing I can control is my outlook. My response. This was
definitely one of those times."
Audrey learned a few things too. "It seems the only time I really learn is when
there's nowhere else to turn but to God," she admits. "That night I learned the
importance of casting all my cares on Him. They are His, and He is completely
trustworthy. "And of course I learned that it's always a good idea to count
bodies before you pull out onto the freeway."
It's time to be honest. What would you have done if you were in Bob's shoes?
Think about it. Be honest now. I think I would have pouted for about three
hundred miles. And made her bring me breakfast in bed. For six weeks. I've known
Audrey and Bob for many years now, and I've watched them go through far deeper
struggles. Their attitudes through those tough times have given them an
international platform through a television ministry that is touching hurting
people with the truths they teach.
Callaway, Phil. Laughing Matters. Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2005, p. 32-36.
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.