I just finished the 5th Harry Potter. At the end
of the book there is a fight scene where Harry is behind Dumbledore as he’s
fighting Voldemort. Dumbledore protects Harry and fights for him. No matter
what comes towards Harry, Dumbledore is the shield, his protector. Seeing this
unfold reminded me of God’s immense, never-ending protection on my life.
Whenever I give my testimony the theme throughout is God’s great protection. I
believe that learning from the mistakes of others has been God’s way of
protecting me from making the same mistakes.
I want to share a timeline of my life and a couple of the
many ways that God’s shield of protection has covered me. All glory and praise
to God for ALWAYS covering me!
Age 0: On a late March night in Texas my parents drive to
the hospital as my mom is going into labor with me. With horrible road
conditions the car makes a complete 360, going into on-coming traffic, without
being harmed. As my dad stands behind my mom sitting in a wheelchair in the
hospital elevator, the doors opened mid-floor, my mom about to give birth in
the elevator. They quickly make it to a hospital room and right as the doctor
walks in I am born.
Age 12: I am told a personal story about sexual abuse that
took place in the childhood of someone close to me. I feel burdened, at such a
young age knowing such things happen. I decide I will never put myself in a
position for something like that to happen to me, and am so thankful that my
childhood has been protected.
Age 13: I see the direct consequences of alcohol when I
witness a young teenager passed out after experimenting with alcohol. His
stomach had to be pumped and was close to being alcohol poisoned. In my shock I
decide never to drink alcohol until I am 21.
Age 18: I see the grief and regret a middle aged married
woman still carries with her from sleeping with her husband before marriage. As
tears roll down her cheeks and her voice cracks, I decide to wait until
marriage to have sex.
[Those are just a few markers from my life of God’s
protection. Here are a few moments from the race where I have seen evidence of
His protection.]
Our first month in Zimbabwe, my team and our contacts are
asked to come to the government office with our passports. What we think is a
dispute regarding us taking pictures in a public place turns into more. I end
up being interrogated in a room by myself by a hard-faced government worker.
Hours later we are let go with a good reprimand and no charges (even though we’d
done nothing wrong).
In India my wallet was stolen and I thought I cancelled the
cards that were in it. Days ago I get a text from my mom telling me that if I
don’t pay $300 towards my credit card in the next week, that I will be counted
delinquent. I look up my account online to find $6,000 worth of charges from
India in the last three months! My mom goes to a Capital One office where
ironically my brother’s ex-girlfriend is there to take care of it all. She says
my credits should be coming in soon and that she doesn’t see any problems
taking place.
Last month in Ukraine I have my backpack on while we are
standing on a bus. I was warned at the beginning of the month to hold onto all
my belongings while on public transport… in a moment of weakness I forget. I
feel someone get close to me from behind and I turn to look behind me and see a
strange man moving a cute pink wallet across his chest into his pocket. MY
WALLET! He had
unzipped my backpack and stole it! I yell ‘EXCUSE ME!’ and take it out of his
hands. I look him in the eyes and begin to say quite loudly ‘THIS MAN JUST
STOLE MY WALLET! He just stole my wallet!’ as I jab him in the shoulder.
Everyone on the bus gets silent and he moves close to the door to get off at
the next stop.
In my freshman year of college, in a moment of immaturity, I ran
out of my dorm lobby in a mask while friends watched. My foot slipped and I
fell down a couple stairs, my tailbone meeting hard with concrete. Ever since I
have had cysts on my tailbone that flare up and cause me pain every couple
months. It happened in India and again in Ukraine worse than it has ever hurt
before. So a little over a week ago in Ukraine my contact calls the hospital,
that happens to be a 2 minute walk from their apartment, and is able to make an
appointment for 45 minutes later. She is my translator and I ask Erin to come
with us. At the appointment the doctor tells me that I need surgery, which can
be done in 2 hours! I decide to go ahead with surgery and hope and pray that
the plane ride in a week will be bearable. The money on my debit card still
hasn’t transferred, so Erin graciously charges the $2,000 bill to her credit
card, knowing that I will reimburse her! I wake up from surgery comforted to
hear their voices. Prayer after prayer is spoken over me and I am healing well
without infection.
There are countless other stories I could share about God’s
protection on the race, especially regarding food and transportation, but these
are the ones that stick out the most.
It is so easy for us to go on with our lives and never
acknowledge the Lord’s protection that takes place everyday. It is no
coincidence that ‘things worked out’ or that ‘the pieces fell right into
place’. The handiwork of God is ALL over our lives! In every moment of
protection, let us praise the Lord for His goodness and grace!
In what ways has the Lord’s protection been evident in your life
recently? How can you share God’s goodness and praise Him through those
instances?
