Safety is a word perhaps too freely used. What is the dictionary definition? According to Google, it is “the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury.” It is “the state of being safe” and safe meaning “free from hurt, injury, danger, or risk” according to dictionary.com.
I used to feel so confident in praying for safety and that He would keep us safe and free from harm as we embarked upon a road trip. Then came May 4, 2013.
After I was discharged from the hospital in Georgia, Jerry and I drove to Texas to join all of our children (well, seven of the nine) where they had gathered for support and for Rebekah’s wedding on May 11. We missed the wedding (saw it via webcam in Mississippi) by a few hours.
A week later, as we drove from Arlington, Texas, to Midland, Texas, for the girls’ first of two funerals, I was reading Psalm 91*: “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” I texted our pastor in Midland about those verses–voicing my confidence in our Father’s care in the midst of confusion about what it really meant. He said that he would be speaking to that the next day in his sermon: “AnnaLeah & Mary are where they belong.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8emDfPJyqM
I am no theologian–just a mother grieving the loss of two of her beloved children, trying to come to terms with unexpected, tragic deaths which make no sense. Over the months, I have continued to read my Bible and question the words as I come across them: guard, protect, security, rescue, deliver… And I ask myself, “What does this mean?”
Mary took this photo, during Confirmation class, a few months before the crash which took her life:
I went and got AnnaLeah’s copy of Luther’s Catechism just now and it opened to that very same page. I turned the pages until I found this promise that our heavenly Father will rescue us from evil:
The reality is that , when we travel on the road, we cannot expect that an angel will guard us from all harm and danger. We cannot expect to be shielded from horrific injury and death. We can, however, expect that our heavenly Father will receive those who believe into His loving arms.
We are charged with taking responsible actions to protect travelers on the road. We means you and me. We are in this together. Please take the time to figure out just what is your part in this life & death matter. Somebody could be counting on you.
*Update (September 27, 2015): A few days ago, we received a letter in the mail.
“Your appeal for funding for truck underride research is a godly and needed effort which will save many lives. May the Lord bless and prosper this undertaking. It will be an extension of Psalm 91. God works sovereignly but also through means.”
My thoughts return, again and again, to this note we received, along with a check to AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety. There is a balm in Gilead.
Join us as we push for better underride proection. Donate to Underride Research at AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety: https://www.fortrucksafety.com/
