Seeking God

My Life through the Years (Part No. 11)

Age 25

Hopefully you were able to read over the last installment that chronicled my journey and exploration of California and various places in this famous state. Now it was time to continue to the eastern portions of the country. It was toward the late fall by this time and cold weather had come.

I left California, just south of the Mojave National Preserve, and entered the famous state of Arizona. I probably should mention my stop at the Grand Canyon National Park in the upper (northern) part of Arizona. This was a grand expression of God’s work in the region. Although many evolutionists would probably say that this was the work of long ages, from what we’ve read, this canyon actually was formed at the time of the Noaic Flood over a very short time period. I stood on the rim on the South Side of the monument and gazed at the deep gorge before me.  This definitely was a breathtaking place—one that left me inspired in many ways.

I continued east to Flagstaff although there are other well-known places to the south. There would be Phoenx in the center of the state and Tucson toward the southern area. I didn’t take the time to visit either of these well-known places but I knew of them. I did a lot of driving from California, into Arizona, then into New Mexico, and on into Texas. As I mentioned earlier, I had wanted to enter Colorado but didn’t make it.

In New Mexico, I drove to Albuquerque but toward the south I could have seen Las Cruces and toward the north was Santa Fe. This was a somewhat liberal state for some reason. The expanse of this portion of the country was before me and I reveled in it. I could have sought out the Indian excavations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, but I didn’t have the time. Nor did I want to miss out on what lie ahead.

In the northern portion of the state of Texas was Amarillo, a cattle and cotton area, as I recall. To the south was Lubbock where I went to college only months later. A main route led from El Paso to the west across the state to the east. It is good to remember that this is the largest state of the union except for Alaska! (I believes it measures 700 miles by 800 miles.) (This would be 4 ½ times the size of my native Pennsylvania!) In the city of Lubbock I broke from my tradition of continuing in the car and sleeping inside for I stopped to visit with K.C. Moser who was a liberal preacher known for his emphasis on grace. I only stayed there for one day as I visited with him and his gracious wife and then was on my way again. I would soon return under completely different circumstances.

Toward the south, I went through Abilene, the home of three universities—Hardin-Simmons, McMurry, including Abilene Christian College (now University). It was interesting to see such a large school far from the urban areas. I continued east into Fort Worth and Dallas (as well as Texarkana) in the north and central region. At the time, I didn’t visit other places of the state such as San Antonio, toward the south, or Austin, further north and the state capital. The latter is the capital and perhaps the most liberal city of the larger ones in the state. As I recall, I continued toward the east and went through the largest city in the state—Houston. There were also smaller towns in the eastern part of the state, such as Lufkin, Jasper, and Lumberton. I had to bid farewell to Texas and continued east.

We know that there are several important cities in the next state (Louisiana), such as Shreveport, Monroe, and Alexandria, but we must go further south. If you are like me, you must look back at your life with some amazement and wonder how things changed. As the quotation has it, “The best laid plans often go astray” (The British original has: “The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men often go astray.) This is what happened to me as I continued on my journey for the Lord. Let me explain. As I was driving along in my “plans” to travel across the southern states as well as the south-central states and finally Florida, and then find a place to live in the woods or forest for a year and engage in intense study of Scripture for a year, my “world” came to an end! This is the way it happened:

I was driving along southern Louisiana, perhaps near Baton Rouge; At this time I don’t recall the exact location, things seemed to be fine and well. The day was normal and the weather good. I came upon an area of the road that was under construction, with trucks entering and leaving the highway. One of these large vehicles had just picked up a heavy cargo of trees. Then it happened! The trees had been taken down or sawed and the truck entered the highway, I prepared to pass on the left. The truck was going very slow as it pulled into the drive area, and as I was in the process of passing, the top log rolled off (in a matter of seconds) and headed for my car that was now directly below and to the left. If I had been a second slower, the heavy log may have smashed my car with me inside. Instead, as I passed, the log rolled down and smashed the back of my old car. I could drive the car but not well.

Of course, I exchanged information with the truck driver and since my car was drivable, I pulled away and proceeded down the road that was under construction. I taped plastic over the back window to keep out the rain, of course, and did what I could to prepare to drive the car safely. This is an illustration of what can happen to change our lives in a matter of a second or two. We may remember what James says: “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that’” (4:14-15). Surely Satan had wanted me dead but God preserved my life.

I continued on my way on the road, much wiser and humiliated and also grateful for I realized that I was close—very close—to death (if the heavy cargo may have fallen directly on my car and perhaps this could have created an “avalanche” of falling logs). But what was I to do now? I surveyed the damage and concluded that the car was not really road-worthy thus the only thing was that my well-laid plans had to come to an end. It is amazing how what we had mapped out for our future can be altered so quickly! What we think is secure and well-ordered can be ended abruptly!

I think that I was able to continue well enough to go to the well-known city of New Orleans, even though with this background, I didn’t think it wise to delay for long. The time at this city was enlightening for “sin city” was there in its glorious display. It was not the time for Mardi Gras, thus the time of gross revelry, but I wanted now to drive back to western Pennsylvania to determine what to do and to perhaps repair the car.

If you will examine your map, I can only guess which route I took. I must have driven north through Mississippi and through Tennessee, into Kentucky and then Ohio and on into Pennsylvania. Or I may have gone through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and into Pennsylvania. Either way, the travels were ended—unexpectedly.

However I was able to drive the distance between Louisiana and Pennsylvania, I arrived “home” but with gratitude for the fact that God had spared my life and given me the opportunity to make plans for the future. But what was I to do? This will be the theme of our next episode. This section (Part 11) marks the end of our travels across the United States and at least the beginning of our plans for the coming months, years, and even life.