March 17, 2018
Be Thou My Vision
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought both by day and by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word; I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tow’r, raise thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
Riches, I heed not, nor vain, empty praise, thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and thou only, the first in my heart, great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Light of my soul, after victory won, may I reach heaven’s joys O heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Text: Irish, 8th cent.; vers. Eleanor H. Hull, 1860-1-1935, alt.; tr. Mary E. Byrne, 1880-1931
It was one winter evening in 1999. I went to a company Christmas party at a colleague’s home in east Wichita. When I got to the home, I noticed several inches of sleet on the sidewalks, street, and other surfaces. It did not appear to be slowing up so I made a decision to start for home.
I was driving my first front wheel drive car, which I had never driven on a slick road. I headed west on Pawnee toward I-135 and home, about 30 miles away. But with 3-4 inches of sleet on the streets I could feel the front wheels slipping, giving an eerie feeling like they were pawing. Thinking ahead I decided that when I got to the interstate I would take the center lane because it would have less snow. I remember being disappointed when I reached the interstate because I could not travel as fast as I had hoped. Although traffic was almost nonexistent, I was passed on the left by a mid-1980’s Oldsmobile. The thought went through my mind that I would have to keep that car in mind because it may spin out because I didn’t think it had front wheel drive. I paced the vehicle keeping it in my focus when I realized that clearance lights to a semi were coming over the Pawnee Street Bridge behind me. I began to gauge his speed and I determined that he was quickly out-pacing me. I was also aware that I was out-pacing the Olds, but at a slower rate. It began to dawn on me that the 3 of us could be side-by-side on that slick interstate very shortly. My next thought was that I did not want to be in the middle. If the Olds spun out at the right time, he could knock me under the semi. I changed lanes.
As we approached the Kellogg bridge the Olds did spin out, turning 90° in the highway. I watched as the semi drove over the car. I was horrified! Suddenly the semi made a 90° turn to the left, broke through the road barrier, and drove into the canal. I was all alone, it was deathly quiet, and the sleet continued to fall.
I pulled to the right, turned on my warning lights, fumbled for my new cell phone, and called 911. The dispatcher answered and I reported two possible fatalities on north bound I-135, just north of Kellogg. The dispatcher asked if I had checked on the drivers. My response was that the dispatcher needed to get the emergency response moving because it was not safe for me or anyone to walk across the road. Suddenly there was a tapping at my passenger window. Looking out I could see a man at the door. He got in the front seat and asked, “What happened?” I responded that he had just been run over by a semi! His next question was, “Where is it?” I told him that the semi was in the canal. We watched as the emergency vehicles began arriving from the north. Eventually a Kansas Trooper walked up to the car and asked the young man to come back to his car. I left a statement and continued on home. Fortunately none of us were injured.
I recall on that evening that my mind had been very active. I sensed that God was there guiding my thought processes. And I continue to find God guiding me in my life experiences.
Rich McDiffett
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