Many in the mid-west USA will remember that a large number of tornados struck all across the state around the week of June 8th 2008. Tom of Patterns of Ink, covers some of it in his post at that time. The tornados cause a lot of damage as well as some deaths and injuries. There is little that man can do against such fury.
A friend, Daryl, did not know it but he was flying back from Malaysia to Chicago and right into this storm system. Daryl has been studying in a University in Illinois and is currently doing his graduate studies. Each summer, he has returned to be with his family for the holidays and so he had made this trip four times before. It is a long journey.
First there is the long flight to Chicago Airport from Malaysia which is more than 20 hours. Then, typically it takes up to 2 hours to clear customs and immigration. This is because that there is always a lot of students arriving at the same time and Malaysia being a Muslim nation, its students are often interviewed thoroughly by immigration. Daryl needs to take a bus from the airport to the small University town a couple of hours away. He always makes the booking through the internet some weeks before his flight and he always allows for three hours to catch the bus on account of the long delays at immigration. Daryl found that this timing worked very well.
This trip, he had made the same arrangements for booking the bus for three hours after scheduled arrivaal at Chicago airport. However, he was pleasantly surprised that customs and immigration took less than half an hour. The surprising reason was that he was the only returning student on that plane. He found out that he could make an earlier bus and did so.
Some 5 hours later, the bus company called him at his apartment to confirm that he was safe and that he had not been on the later bus which he had made a booking for. Only then did Daryl learn about the severe weather that hit Illinois.
His parents shared this with the church the following Sunday and we gave thanks to God for keeping Daryl safe. The bus that he was supposed to take is the one in the bottom picture. 
We believe God took charge of the travel arrangements and protected Daryl from harm. As is my own experience, God is the best travel agent there is.
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22 comments:
Thanks for sharing the link.
I love dramatic weather - but not quite so much drama. What a difference a couple of hours can make or a couple of miles.
yikes! scary, but awesome to watch the hand of God in situations like this!
Glad your friend was safe. Tornados are so frightening in their power.
great story....and so happy your friend wasn't on that bus.
Amen to that! Glad your friend is safe. A very similar thing happened to my FIL afew years ago. He was taking a flight to Zurich, with a stop in Geneva [or possibly the other way around!]But as he was heading to the boarding area he met a friend who worked for the airline. The friend said he could change him to a direct flight, and he did. The other plane crashed.....enough to give a person goosebumps!
omg... I am always amazed at the interventions in our lives, for what ever reasons.
Just very happy that he ended up being safe and so sad for those on that bus.
Life and connections can be so close that we forget that the impact of distant events can or could potentially be a part of our own lives.
Thank you for the reminder of how close so many of us, each day can easily come close to events that will shape our destiny never thought of... and those we have no control of.
Wow, that's a terrific story. Another of my blogpals lives in Nebraska. They have had tornados too. Scary stuff.
violetsky,
Indeed, dramatic weather can be fascinating. I would love to see storm surges crashing into a lighthouse but am also fearful to be there. And true also, there are more near misses in our lives than we would like to think.
cabcree,
Scary without God but shielded by grace otherwise.
cz,
Thanks. All you can do if caught near a tornado is hope and pray.
ruth,
As you can imagine, his parents were overjoyed.
molly,
Wow, that friend saved your FIL by that kind gesture.
msw,
More near misses than we would like to think.
claire,
It must be something to have lived through a tornado. I hope I never find out.
Absolutely. Put all your plans in the hands of the Lord and he will see you through. Nice post!
Kat
God is indeed a great travel agent.
Few inches,a few minutes or a few hours or days and we forget how we are protected by God. I have known HIS protection in my car more than once-missed the group of trees and stopped just before the rocks . I saw what tornados can do-I missed it by a day.
Omigosh! I have a friend who lives in Iowa, and he was outside mowing his lawn, and he saw the storm cloud go overhead that touched down just moments later in a small nearby town and killed several people. It's really the luck of the draw, isn't it?
Apparently the severe weather is the direct result of climate change. Mankind needs to smarten up. Perhaps this is God's way of giving us a smack up the side of the head.
(I have changed my blogsite. If you click on this link, it will take you to my new blog. Hope to see you!)
He surely was protected. My parents changed their mind and booked a week earlier for a plane to Tenerife. A week later that same plane crashed.
can tell a few miracle stories about my family
Some One was looking out for Daryl.
I'm so very glad that your friend is all right. What an awful thing. We never know why we are spared. I'm glad your friend had such delightful misfortune.
God and/or His hosts of angels are in force to help us in all situation. Even in tragic times. I'm so glad your friend is safe. We had a F4 tornado strike here a few weeks ago through our old neighborhood. I'm so glad we moved, but I had to go through the next day to check on all of our neighbors to see if they were okay.
poetikat,
Man may make his plans but it is God who sets his path.
dr.john,
I am sure you have experienced that yourself.
joyce,
If we all really stop and think, we would realise God has watched over us and too often many of us have not acknowledged it.
jo,
See you at your new site.
marja,
Do please share more about the miracles in your family. It would be both interesting and encouraging.
Ivan,
Indeed.
claudia,
with all the things that can kill us, it is already a miracle that we are not already dead. This reminds us how precious each day of life is that it should not be squandered on the inconsequential and the trivial.
margaret,
I have every reason to believe that God sends His angels to watch over us. Hope your ol' neighbors are Okay.
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