He Knew & Knows

On Saturday morning, Suzanne and I decided to drive halfway across the state on a last-minute camping trip...

As God would have it, He placed us in situations

that we never foresaw coming.

God determines the number of the stars and

calls them each by name. -Psalm 147:4

We called our intended campsite just two hours northeast of Duluth to make reservations, prepaid for the site, packed up our tent and jumped in the car. About three hours later, we realized I took a wrong turn (well, technically, I didn't turn at all). This tiny error meant we would be setting up our tent in the middle of the night, so we laughed it off and decided to stay at a closer campsite (all of which were booked solid) and ended up staying at a KOA. Once there, they gave us free-choice for our campsite and after much surveying, we chose space #52.

Before I was ever born, God knew

I would forget to make my turn

and would end up in campsite #52 at the Duluth KOA.

We set up our tent and heated up left-over lo mein on our Coleman stove. All-in-all, it was shaping up to be a great night. While sitting around the campfire, our campsite neighbor showed up across the road. She was loud, chopping down brush and popping open beer after beer. She was camping alone. And drinking. And obviously in some kind of emotional pain.

We pretended to not hear her, but it was harder the more she drank. That night after some chatting, we learned she was on a "week-long retreat from her husband and kids." And, we also learned that she had drank half a bottle of whiskey.

As we were in bed that night, I listened to her at her campsite. She was calling every male that she knew, asking them for a one-night stand. She and her husband had come to some sort of agreement that she could have one week of a no-questions-asked-freedom and that meant she wanted to drink too much and sleep around. I prayed repeatedly for the woman. And with each call she made, she got negative responses from her male-prospects.

The next day, after staying awake until the wee hours of the morning and all calls had been made, Suzanne and I wondered about what kind of pain drove her to that place. And we were glad to have been there.

Lord, take care of that woman whose name we don't know and life we are not familiar with. You know her heart, her pain and her needs. Comfort her and show her Your glory. - Amen.

God knows us before we are born and what we will do.

Thank you, Lord for sending us to a KOA

that we never intended to visit.