A Holiday Tale

On the Sunday night before Christmas and all through the long highway from my hometown Bamberg, SC, to my home in Columbia, SC, not a creature was stirring, not even my black SUV that had suffered many repairs in 2012 already. As I drove down the lonely highway, the headlights suddenly grew dim along with the interior lights. I attempted to adjust the lights while the car began to slow down involuntarily. Entering Orangeburg, SC, I pulled into a nearby parking lot and turned off the engine, but it would not restart. Thinking it was the battery, I called my stepfather to help me give the battery a boost.

After a few moments and against his judgment that it may be the alternator, I got back on the road to make the near one hour trip I had left to make it home. I felt confident that the battery would hold. When I had reached I-77, the car began to stall again--in the middle of nowhere! However, as it turned two hours to midnight, I made up my mind that I would not be stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Sheer determination powered the vehicle back into the Columbia town limits. As I extended my gratitude toward the heavens, the hapless car began stalling again, but this time no prayer could save her. The lights dimmed, and the engine slowed down. The car stopped on the shoulder of a bridge headed north on the interstate.  The temperature was 35 degrees. It was one hour until midnight, and this time there was no one to call because my cell had died.

If anyone is looking for a happy ending here, then they won't find it here. Over two bridges and with a herd of oncoming traffic behind me, I walked two miles to the nearest exit. I didn't expect anyone to stop and offer me assistance at that hour. My emergency lights could not come on, and days after the Newtown tragedy, everyone's conscience was surely on high alert, especially during the holiday season. After I charged my phone at a nearby convenience store, I called my wife to give me a ride home.

Thinking back to the long walk on the interstate, I was not angry. Incredibly, I have suffered worse things in my life. Many thoughts carried me along during the endless trek. I'm grateful to still be alive and not have suffered a worse fate. At any point during that ordeal, I could have been taken out of this world, yet I remain here today for an awesome, unbelievable purpose. The "fun" in the situation is understanding why did it happen--not just logistically but spiritually. I do not believe in fate; I believe in destiny and purpose through God.

Somewhere and someday that experience will be used to help both myself and someone else. Stay tuned for that update (it may even be in years to come...)