A Trip to Remember

I just got back from a 4 day trip to the Frio River with my dad, his wife and my 3 kids. We had a great time overall, but it is a trip I will not soon forget. The weather was off and on. On Tuesday when Skip arrived for just a short stay, the weather looked pretty clear. Up until this point, the kids and I had just rode on tubes a short distance due to the quick waterflow and extra high water levels. Since Skip and I were ready for some adventure, we chose to take Ashley(our 13 yr. old) on an hour and a half tube ride and my dad was going to pick us up at a determined location. As we started out, I questioned if we should go ahead and wait until later, as the clouds were just starting to darken a bit. I know this may be familiar to many of you ladies out there, but our holy spirit nudgings are usually correct. I submitted(ha ha) to my husband's need for speed, and we took the pludge. The first 5 minutes were great. We went over a pretty fast small waterfall, and onlookers were saying, "Wow, that was great. We got out of our tubes because we thought that run was too rough." We continued on at a peaceful pace (or float), but then we heard thunder. Within minutes it was POURING!!! Lightening filled the sky, and Ashley was freaking out. We could not see a thing as the rain was coming down so hard. Thankfully we were all together on our tubes, and the lightening was not right above us. A few minutes later, the lightning was everywhere, and we anxiously looked for a spot to get out of the water. As soon as the rain started, Ashley and I were in full prayer warrior mode. We prayed out loud, and despite her complete panic, she wanted to sing praise songs. I knew without a doubt God was there, but my human side, was in survival crisis thinking. We found a way out on some private property. Skip suggested we stop for a moment under a tree. Excuse me, but aren't tree's the worst place to go under in a thunderstorm (besides the water we were just sitting in). We stayed for about 10 seconds, and then Ashley and I started running to a nearby house. No one was home, but we stayed for a while to think of our next plan of action to take.

Skip joined us, and suggested we just start walking back. I knew my dad and the rest of the family would be worried sick about us because of the storm, so we needed to get back to the RV campsite we were staying at, or at least meet up with him at our ending destination. The rain was not stopping, and the manly man I'm married to would not stop at any of the homes we were passing to ask for help. We walked about a half a mile, and a man in a truck came by to ask if we needed help. Before I could hug the man and give an enthusiastic, "YES!", Skip said, "No, we're fine, we just have a little ways to go." I almost left him standing there alone. After the man drove off, I told Skip, "Don't you know that could have been an angel sent to help us? He just continued walking and said, "We'll be fine." Well, as those words left his mouth and I began to walk on, I heard Skip cry out. He had fallen in a hole in the rocky road we were walking on and completely scraped his knees beyond recognition. Now Skip is hurt, we are walking in a thunderstorm, we have no idea where we are, and my daughter is crying. I continued praying and walking, and we finally make it back to our campsite. Skip gets cleaned up, my dad returns after an hour of looking for us, and all is well. Actually, I have never been so terrified in my life. It was so unreal, but I will never forget the way, we literally cried out to God for protection.

Tragically, when we read the paper the next day, a man from San Antonio was killed by lightning just several miles away from where we were during the same storm. Here is the story. Unbelievable! I was so saddened when I read this. Please pray for this man's family and his sons who witnessed this. The man was a pastor too. I can't imagine what they are going through. I usually take note when I feel the holy spirit telling me to not do something, but I didn't listen this time. I was just so happy to have some time with my husband and daughter. I will know better next time. Sorry this is such a long post, but I thought it was definitely worth sharing.

By the way the song that comforted us was, "You Never Let Go" by Matt Redman. We will have a new appreciation when we hear that song play on the radio next time.

*If you want to read my husband's version of the same time, same day, and same experience, then go here.