Originally, I was going to use the title “Guiding Lights,” but I thought it sounded too much like one of the daytime dramas. That being said, this article does have some driving drama in it.

My first driving drama happened in my early 20s. I was heading to work at Baptist Hospital. Thankfully it was a Saturday morning, which meant lighter traffic on I-75.

The forecast called for rain, but I didn’t think anything much about it since it was slightly cloudy when I left my house. The closer to the interstate I drove, the darker the sky grew. At that point, I hoped the rain would hold off until I was inside the hospital.

That didn’t happen.

I hadn’t been on the interstate a minute when the sky opened up and dropped Niagara Falls. That’s what it felt like. Thanks to the torrential rain, I could barely see a few inches in front of me.

Needless to say, I was terrified. It was like being in a bad dream.

I couldn’t even see well enough to pull off the road, much less stay in my lane. What if there was a tractor trailer next to me and it couldn’t see me? What if any vehicle rammed into me?

Talk about doing some hard praying.
There had been a white van driving in front of me. Fortunately, I was able to make out its tail lights. That was literally the only thing I could see. I felt the impression to follow it and I did. It became my beacon in the blinding rain.

Know what’s really awesome? After the rain eased up, I realized the little white van was a church van.

The next weather drama happened many, many years later. It was a Sunday evening and I had driven my daughter back to college at The University of the Cumberlands, which is located in Williamsburg, Kentucky. By the way, you have to cross over Jellico Mountain to get there and back.

I was rather concerned about the drive since there was a fog advisory. Tim was working that evening, so I would be driving back by myself.

The ride up wasn’t too foggy, but the ride back was terrifying. You see, it took a while to carry Sara’s laundry and weekly supplies to her dorm room. By the time I started back, the fog had hit.

It was around 9 PM when I started back up Jellico Mountain and that’s when I drove into the thickest fog I had ever seen. I could barely see a few inches in front of me. I prayed for God’s protection and guess what, taillights appeared in front of me again.

They belonged to a semi and I followed it all the way back to the Stinking Creek exit, which is a little north of the Oneida exit. That’s where I finally drove out of the fog. I think it’s about 17 miles between Stinking Creek and Jellico. I know that doesn’t seem like many miles, but we were traveling at 30 MPH, so it felt as though I would never get out of the fog and back home.

After the fog, my prayer changed from one of needing help to one of thanksgiving and praise.

“And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” Psalm 50:15 (KJV)

Looking back, I don’t think I took a deep breath those 17 miles. Even though I was thankful to be out of the dense fog, it took me a few miles to completely calm down. I don’t know how my fingers didn’t leave permanent dents in the steering wheel.