dhalltoyo
Veteran Expediter
As with all types of employment there are some negative aspects. I miss my lovely, little wife. I miss being at my home church where I can hear the truth preached; truth that is rightly divided. I miss the fellowship with like-minded believers. And I do miss those creature comforts (My own bed, home cooked meals, clean bathroom, etc) that are afforded by being at home.
God is good and He has really removed the scales from my eyes. He has shown me some wonderful truths and allowed me to experience His guiding hand. One particular instance comes to mind.
I had been on the road about one week when the call came to pick a load in New Castle, IN and run it up Grand Rapids, MI. The load picked up at 8 PM and required me to drive through the night until I reached my destination. First, driving at night increases your chances of running into objects on the roadway. Second, driving into Michigan during January increases your chances of running into heavy snow squalls coming off Lake Michigan. Third, it is cold when you are forced to rest in your truck.
I made good time going to Grand Rapids. When I pulled into the company’s receiving area there was a fork lift truck bringing out some wire baskets to their outside storage area. He offered to unload my truck immediately. Yeah! Things seemed to be going my way; no wait time to unload. I paused for a moment to fill out my paperwork and when I looked out of the front window snow flakes were beginning to fall.
There is a terminal about 90 miles south of Grand Rapids where I could stay overnight for free. One couch and three reclining chairs, but they beat a sleeping bag in the van! I headed south. The snow fall intensified with every mile. When I got to the city limits of Grand Rapids all of the traffic behind me had exited the highway. Within 15 minutes the roadway was completely covered and I could no longer see the lines. I judged my position on the road according to the distance from the side marker poles along the road.
The falling snow was so heavy that the visibility dropped to a few hundred feet. I needed to make a decision. I thought to myself, “If I stop along the side of the road someone will hit me from the rear and if I exit the freeway there are no gas stations or other businesses available to safely park in their lots; hence, I would still be on the roadway.†I cried out, “Help Lord.â€
I glanced in my mirror and I noticed headlights piercing through the blizzard like conditions. Within minutes a tandem tractor trailer was passing me on the left. As soon as he passed my van he immediately cut over in front of me. At first, my fleshly reaction thought that to be very reckless and rude. The vortex created by the passing truck dropped the visibility to 25 feet or less! But wait a minute. As he moved forward I could see the snow being blown off the roadway. The traffic lane lines began to appear. Now another truck from the same company came around me once again. He repeated the same process and the roadway was virtually clear.
I have heard war stories about pilots who were returning solo from Europe and crossing the English Channel. With England in view the pilot spotted several enemy fighters closing in on him. Knowing that he could not withstand such an attack he began to contemplate his death. Suddenly he looked to his left and then his right; ally fighter pilots were now his wingmen and the enemy turned tail and scurried back across the channel. After landing safely the pilot told the story of “Angels on his wings.â€
That night in Michigan I had “Angles in my mirrors.†Praise God!
God is good and He has really removed the scales from my eyes. He has shown me some wonderful truths and allowed me to experience His guiding hand. One particular instance comes to mind.
I had been on the road about one week when the call came to pick a load in New Castle, IN and run it up Grand Rapids, MI. The load picked up at 8 PM and required me to drive through the night until I reached my destination. First, driving at night increases your chances of running into objects on the roadway. Second, driving into Michigan during January increases your chances of running into heavy snow squalls coming off Lake Michigan. Third, it is cold when you are forced to rest in your truck.
I made good time going to Grand Rapids. When I pulled into the company’s receiving area there was a fork lift truck bringing out some wire baskets to their outside storage area. He offered to unload my truck immediately. Yeah! Things seemed to be going my way; no wait time to unload. I paused for a moment to fill out my paperwork and when I looked out of the front window snow flakes were beginning to fall.
There is a terminal about 90 miles south of Grand Rapids where I could stay overnight for free. One couch and three reclining chairs, but they beat a sleeping bag in the van! I headed south. The snow fall intensified with every mile. When I got to the city limits of Grand Rapids all of the traffic behind me had exited the highway. Within 15 minutes the roadway was completely covered and I could no longer see the lines. I judged my position on the road according to the distance from the side marker poles along the road.
The falling snow was so heavy that the visibility dropped to a few hundred feet. I needed to make a decision. I thought to myself, “If I stop along the side of the road someone will hit me from the rear and if I exit the freeway there are no gas stations or other businesses available to safely park in their lots; hence, I would still be on the roadway.†I cried out, “Help Lord.â€
I glanced in my mirror and I noticed headlights piercing through the blizzard like conditions. Within minutes a tandem tractor trailer was passing me on the left. As soon as he passed my van he immediately cut over in front of me. At first, my fleshly reaction thought that to be very reckless and rude. The vortex created by the passing truck dropped the visibility to 25 feet or less! But wait a minute. As he moved forward I could see the snow being blown off the roadway. The traffic lane lines began to appear. Now another truck from the same company came around me once again. He repeated the same process and the roadway was virtually clear.
I have heard war stories about pilots who were returning solo from Europe and crossing the English Channel. With England in view the pilot spotted several enemy fighters closing in on him. Knowing that he could not withstand such an attack he began to contemplate his death. Suddenly he looked to his left and then his right; ally fighter pilots were now his wingmen and the enemy turned tail and scurried back across the channel. After landing safely the pilot told the story of “Angels on his wings.â€
That night in Michigan I had “Angles in my mirrors.†Praise God!
