Where Was My Faith? by Karen Ruhl

Craig and I took a drive the other day to check out a small town in the mountains that we had not yet visited. We love to explore and, of course, my camera is attached to me wherever we go! We drove to Burnsville, NC, and found it to be such a charming town. They were having a Christian gospel concert with multiple family musical groups—a complete and wonderful surprise. One of the local merchants supplied wooden rockers and other seating for the event. We stayed for a couple of hours and then decided we should head home.

We decided to take The Blue Ridge Parkway home, knowing it would take a couple of hours from where we were. We started on our drive home, stopping at the overlooks, and having fun going through all the tunnels on that part of the parkway. When we got to the Pisgah Inn, we stopped at the little store to get freshened up and get a snack and drink. When we got ready to leave, the car wouldn’t start. The battery was dead — and I mean dead! Well, we said, look how blessed we are to be on the parkway in a safe parking place, next to bathrooms and a store where we can get what we need. We called AAA knowing we would probably have quite a wait since we were on the parkway. They told us 45-50 minutes, not too bad. I strolled around the inn grounds, getting great photos of the mountains. It was cool and breezy, quite a nice day. I prayed and thanked God for letting us be in a safe place when the battery died. The woman from AAA battery service arrived, confirmed the battery was dead, and replaced it. She told us that one cable to the battery was loose and needed to be replaced, but we should be able to get home safely. They do not have cables on their trucks. We thanked her and off we went.

The dash lights all flickered as we pulled out of the parking lot, but we thought they were just resetting. The first turn took us down one of the curviest roads we have ever experienced on the parkway. I know Craig’s knuckles were white, and I was praying the entire way down the hill. We took this route so we could be on the highway instead of taking the parkway home. We got on the I-40 where there was tons of construction and very bumpy roads. The lights flickered again, and all the gauges were going wacky. I prayed, and Craig looked for an exit that had a gas station. At the bottom of that exit, the car died. No lights, no brakes, only that fear that comes from worrying that we might be hit from behind. I prayed, but I worried. Where was my faith? My faith was in God, who listens to my prayers and answers. If we keep our eyes and ears open, He will show us and tell us He is near.

We were able to get the car started and pulled off the exit into a gas station that was right next to the exit. The people at this gas station were amazing. We had 4-5 people come and ask if we needed help. The attendant at the gas station was fantastic and - yep - Christian. We called AAA again for a tow or possible repair. It took another 50 minutes for them to arrive but the young man who came was able to fix the cable by flipping it upside down so it would tighten properly. We were back on the road, still feeling anxious because we still had a mountain we had to drive down! Where was my faith? It was in knowing that God had given us all we needed, and He got us home safely at midnight. We both were tired and still feeling stressed from the drive, but also very thankful that we knew God was with us on our drive. Praise God for His faithfulness.