Bliss in Blythe

We had an intruder.  One I knew well; very well, unfortunately. My son Kenny and I were driving north across the desert to Quartzite where we would meet his friend Nicole. She lived in Los Angeles, two or three hours to the west. A motel selected from the current travel guide would be the rendezvous location at noon.
Finishing my research work at City Hall in Yuma that morning took longer than I anticipated and the road to Quartzite was slower than I estimated. A lot slower. We would arrive at least 90 minutes late and there was no cell phone coverage to coordinate the change in arrival time.
In my DOD (days of darkness) of the past, I would have made an unraveling plan such as this even uglier by spewing foul language and emitting negative vibes of anger, not to mention insane driving. Do you remember the old Reader’s Digest article ‘The Nation’s Worst Drivers?’ At least they didn’t mention me by name.
Now, by the grace of God, I walked through life trusting the Father for all. 
Behold the lilies of the field…how they grow; they toil not;  neither do they spin;  yet… even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you? (Matthew 6:28-30)
Kenny’s anxiety after repeated failed attempts to connect with Nicole deflated his faith. It was enough to permit the intruder to enter. I detected this intruder by the uncharacteristic tension as he drove - in his hands, in his legs, in his speech and in the atmosphere. 
The intruder had been my primary tormentor from my DOD.  A demon of haste -
Hurry up! Even if there is no deadline. Just to practice for when there is a deadline. We have to get there ASAP. Pronto! Now! Faster! But first, procrastinate to make sure we are cutting it close. We don’t have time to enjoy the ride. We don’t have time to look at the scenery. We don’t have time to stop. But don’t worry about safety – God wants you there fast; and He will protect you, even if you don’t practice safety. You don’t even have to use your seat belt. If we aren’t on time, no one will wait for us; and no one will forgive us. If we do manage to arrive on time, certainly they will understand why we are too tired to be involved in any conversations. As soon as we get there we will need to rest up because we will have to hurry home. Hurry up, even if there is no deadline.
Saddened that my beloved son was being vexed by my former nemesis, my soul wept. I prayed silently.
Words of solace came. I apologized for not getting my information from city hall any quicker, but sometimes governments are like that; surely we would have cell phone coverage again soon and surely Nicole would have a safe place to wait for us in the motel lobby.
We finally arrived in Quartzite. Oh… bad news! There was still no cell phone. And there was NO motel! While listed in the travel guide, it had never been built!
The demon eagerly reminded us of our predicament -
Ninety minutes LATE! NO cell phone coverage. You tried a pay phone and Nicole has NO cell phone coverage either, thus NO way to contact her. She is traveling alone in an old Volkswagen nearly three hours from home. The meeting place doesn’t even exist! This is a terrible situation. She will be mad. She might even turn around and go home and never speak to you again. Can’t God even permit time to visit Nicole without trouble? God can’t be trusted in matters that are really important to you?
Kenny listened to the intruder. He was frustrated, anxious and angry – just as I had been almost continuously during my years of DOD. I believe God wept.
We had given the day to God in prayer before we left home that morning; He was still in control. I prayed again, silently. His love enveloped me, and I hugged my son. As I held him, we prayed. 
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)
Words of wisdom came to me, and I shared them -
"LET’S NOT LOOK AT THE OBSTACLES HERE; LET’S LOOK AT THE PROMISES OF GOD…
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
AND LET’S LOOK AT WHAT HE IS TRYING TO TEACH US HERE."
When Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out saying, ‘Lord save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ (Matthew 14:29-31)
We released the ungodly thoughts and emotions at the foot of the cross: faithlessness, haste, anger, anxiety.
The Holy Spirit prevailed, the intruder fled, and God smiled.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:35, 38-39)
The map showed a town twenty miles west – Blythe. It was just across the Colorado River. "It’s a little bit bigger. Let’s go there; maybe they will have cell phone coverage so whenever Nicole gets to a cell phone area we can call her."
Eighteen miles down the road, two minutes outside Blythe, the cell phone chirped up. We had a message.
"Hi, it’s Nicole. I went to Quartzite… ummm… there is NO such motel – it apparently had never been built! And there is NO cell phone coverage there, so I drove back across the Colorado River to Blythe. I am waiting at the motel here in Blythe."
Two more minutes elapsed, followed by a sweet, teary, and glorious reunion.