God's Protecting Hand

South Texas thawed out just in time for another arctic blast to hit us. Many folks around here spent the weekend repairing broken pipes from the last freeze. I have visited a number of public bathrooms with signs saying the sink still has no water. Sunday I heard from a number of people who were born and raised in the area who could not remember a time where it had been below freezing for so long. That last storm really was a history making storm.

Sunday after church I drove to San Antonio, visited with a few people, and spent the night. Monday morning I got an oil change, did my shopping (and shopping for two other friends), and then drove home. Before arriving home though I had to make my first delivery to a neighbor. Once home I unloaded the car and checked on the cats, who were fine thanks to my neighbor who had checked on them that morning.

Tuesday morning I drove to Rocksprings to make the second delivery and did a little work in the library. I also stopped at the grocery store for a neighbor and picked up a few items. Out here we have to help each other, it is just part of being neighborly. After I was done there I headed for home, first dropping off the groceries.

Normally I would not attempt going to Rocksprings and Kerrville in the same day but the weather forecasters had been telling us freezing rain was coming, and I wanted to beat the bad weather. So I got my things, picked up a friend who lives a few miles to the west, and we headed for an afternoon of shopping.

The reason I felt such a need to go to Kerrville yesterday was to visit a business in town that sells Derksen Portable Buildings. The people I purchased this land from had started to build a house but instead purchased this mobile home. This past year I have been staring at the foundation that was left trying to decide what to do with it. I still have not made a final decision but one thought is to just buy a portable building, put it on the foundation, and then turn it into a small efficiency apartment. Because of the space it would not be fully functional, but it is just a short walk to the house for cooking and other needs. Like I said, I have not made my final decision, but I do know I need to do something before that foundation rots away.

It is now Wednesday morning. Yesterday it reached about 70F (21c) with gusty winds. This morning it was 13F (-11c) when I woke up. The cats are once again locked in the kitty condo, though they do not appear happy with my decision. It is lightly snowing outside.

I know there are a lot of folks praying for me and I am extremely grateful. God is listening. He is taking care of me. One bad thing about the location of The Ranch is when I drive to Kerrville in the morning the sun is in my eyes. When I drive home in the evening the sun is in my eyes. It is especially bad this time of the year. There is one stretch of Hwy 41 where the sun basically blinds a person. That was the case Monday evening as I was driving home. I just could not see where the road was except for knowing I was in a turn. God took care of me though. Just in time I caught a glimpse of where the road was and was able to adjust the steering wheel so I remained on the road and avoided hitting the road sign I had been heading for.

God would once again have to protect me as I and my friend drove home from Kerrville last night. This time we were on Hwy 27, a hilly curvy road with lots of trees, brush, and deer. There were 4 cars behind me as we drove towards the tiny town of Mountain Home, when out of the brush came 2 deer running at full speed. As the buck ran right in front of my car I managed to hit the brakes and somehow avoid hitting him; miracle number one. The doe came right behind the buck but she chose to run behind my car instead. I am still amazed that the truck, which had been driving to close to me, somehow managed to avoid crashing into me and the doe; miracle number two. There were several more cars behind the truck, who also managed to stop in time; miracle number three. In the opposite direction came another car that also had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the two deer; miracle number four. In addition to all the cars, on the opposite side of the road was a bicyclist who narrowly escaped getting run over by the deer who headed straight for him; miracle number five.

As soon as we escaped the deer I looked in my rear view mirror and could not believe my eyes. A car, which turned out to be a contract mail car, was driving on the shoulder and speeding past all us cars. If there had been even one more deer running out of the bushes, that car would have crashed into the deer, and then probably crashed into us. That driver could have easily caused a multi-car accident with fatalities (remember the pour guy riding his bike). As soon as he passed me he moved back into the driving lane and quickly increased his speed and was out of sight. I am guessing he speeded up to at least 70 mph, maybe faster. The speed limit there (before we arrived in town) was 60 mph.

How all of us managed to not hit the deer or another car is truly a miracle. God protected all of us.