A Chain of Events

Sunday afternoon we decided to go out on the boat with the Brennemans. It took us awhile to actually make it out the door.

Finally we left. Deb and I were in the van with a load of boys. We made it 30 seconds away from the house before realizing that Eli and Evan did not have something they needed. So we turned around and I ran into the house to get the forgotten things. Then we headed out again.

A few minutes down the highway, the red car we were following stopped suddenly right on the road. A young woman jumped out of the driver's side and started running as fast as she could down the road as we passed the car. Then we saw a man jump out of the passenger side and begin chasing her. Deb said, "He's after her!" I pulled off the road saying, "What do I do?! What do I do?!" Deb (much braver than I) said, "Turn around!" No other cars were around. I turned around and flew back to where the man had caught up with the woman. He had her by then. I drove up to them, laying on the horn, my panicked mind checking for a gun in his hands. He let go of her and we quickly asked her if she wanted a ride. She did, so she jumped in the van as he started back toward the abandoned car. I drove back into town as fast as I could because I was afraid he would follow us. She was crying and shaking and saying he was crazy. She didn't want to go to the police station, but wanted to use the phone. So I took her to our house.

Our house is well-off the main road, but if you're looking, you can see the parking lot from the road. I took her into the house and stood at the window watching while she used the phone. Eventually, I saw his car heading our way down the highway. My heart was pounding so hard- I was afraid that enraged man would pull into our drive. I was prepared to take the phone from her and call 911. But he didn't. The girl wasn't able to get a hold of her friend, so she asked if we could take her to Balmertown. I agreed to, but said that if I saw his car when I pulled out from behind the building in front of our house, I was going straight to the police station.

I went to where the guys were with the boat. We left the van there and Kendall and I took the girl to Balmertown in the truck. (The poor little guys that witnessed all of this. And apparently, Deb and the boys also saw the red car coming down the highway while they were waiting in the van for her to make her call. Deb told the boys to stay in the van and said that she would get out and talk to the man if he pulled into our driveway, which they were not too happy about.)

Anyway, by the time Kendall and I got back to the boat after dropping the girl off at a friend's house (still shaken), the sky was getting dark. We started out in the boat, but soon turned back when the clouds and lightning seemed to be moving in our direction. We got off the boat, then it started raining and the wind picked up. We jumped in the van to get out of the rain. It started hailing as the men and Tyler were still wrestling with the boat in the wind. They ran for cover. All of the sudden, HUGE hail started falling. It was insane! And very loud in the van. Deb and I just kept looking at each other- laughing, but also wondering how bad this storm was going to get. (I had recently told them about last summer's tornado close to here when people were killed and a family's boat flipped while they were in it.) Eventually, the storm calmed, but we couldn't help but wonder what we would have done if we had been caught out in the middle of the lake.

If everything had gone according to plan, we would have been much farther from shore when the sky got dark. We would have been far from shelter and would have been stuck somewhere in the hail storm.

If everything had gone according to plan, no car would have been around when the girl we picked up was getting chased down the highway. Who knows what would have happened... Was he going to hurt her or was he only trying to get his car keys back?

I'm glad things didn't go according to plan that day. The chain of events ended up being a good thing.

Who knows what it all means. I have a hard time when people have a pat answer: everything worked out in a certain situation because "God was in control." I believe that God is in control, but what about when something doesn't work out? Or when it works out horribly? Does that mean that he isn't in control in that circumstance?

It would be interesting to hear people's thoughts on this. In any case, I am very thankful for this particular chain of events. I think God liked it and used it and I think he was in control.

By the way, the next day at the rec center I saw the same girl. Then I walked out to the lobby and saw the guy. I wouldn't have recognized him for sure, except that he kept looking at me. Later, Eli and 2 of the Brenneman boys said they recognized him in the locker room. The red car was in the parking lot.

It was a creepy feeling to see him again and apparently be recognized. It's hard to be anonymous in a small town. Praying for peace.