Memorial Box Monday

I have been going to Linny's blog, A Place Called Simplicity, for quite sometime now and I always enjoy reading the stories connected to her Monday postings. She keeps a Memorial Box filled with reminders of how God has been faithful to her and her family. Each object has a story that goes with it. One example is a toy shark that reminds her of the time she was bitten by a shark in the ocean, but survived to tell about it. Sometimes it is difficult to see beyond our current circumstances, but by having a Memorial Box filled with memories and reminders of God's faithfulness, we have a visible reminder that we can trust God will work all things out for the best.

I have decided to start my own Memorial Day Monday posts, following along with Linny and many of her fellow bloggers. Today what comes to mind is a situation that occurred while we were living in The Philippines. I will use a Matchbox car to remind me of this event. We were getting ready to go back home to the US after Joel served for two years at Clark Air Force Base, and we were trying to sell our 1969 Nova. Cars were scarce in The Philippines, so we were hoping to find a good buyer quickly. Two men read Joel's ad about the car and wanted to test drive it. He met them in the Barrio nearby and told them they could not drive it, but he would drive them around in the car so they could see what kind of shape it was in. One hopped in the front seat, and another in the back and off they went, with one man giving Joel directions to turn left, turn right, drive here, etc. At one street when they told him to turn, a voice strongly spoke in his head, saying "DO NOT TURN". Joel hesitated and the voice said again, "Do NOT turn". Joel went straight and immediately stopped in a well populated area getting out of the car. The men were visibly upset, but got out and left trying to steal Joel's calculator in the process. Joel then got back in the car and drove home. Joel heard the next day that another serviceman had been stabbed and badly injured by two men who had wanted to test his car and had him drive to a secluded place where they stole the car and left him badly injured. We knew without doubt that God had protected Joel from harm. So today I am putting a matchbox car in my Memorial Box as a reminder of God's protection...even when we don't know we need it!