An Icy Death Threat

  “But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hand.”

 Psalm 31:14-15

There’s a mental landmark along Highway 30 between Oxford and New Albany that Othel and I will always remember. It was a 20° early Sunday morning when we were on our way to a visit to church with our children. The fields were frosty white and the highway abandoned

As we hit the straightaway along some large sections of farmland, Othel and I gasped. A pickup truck was overturned in the ditch to our right, and a cloud of steam and smoke billowed from it. Othel hit his brakes and pulled off the highway. We saw a body lying in the frozen field three car lengths from the truck.

Othel sped back onto the highway to a nearby house and shouted to the occupants to call 911. He squealed out of the drive back to the accident. The highway was still deathly quiet. Othel rushed from our vehicle across the ditch to the body. It was a young college student, semiconscious and groaning in pain. Othel grabbed a coat from his truck and covered him. With other clothes, he tried to cushion his body from the frozen mattress of earth. Then he knelt down beside him and told him help was on the way. The wait for the ambulance seemed endless, but Othel continued to assure the young man with his presence.

Last week Othel received a Thanksgiving card from the young man’s family, similar to the one he gets from them each Thanksgiving. They continue to express their gratitude to Othel for stopping, for getting help, and for staying by his side. They thank God for their son’s life being spared in the accident and for Othel’s timely first aid in the icy temperatures.

As we mainstream into the Christmas season I think of what Christ’s birth mean to mankind, and my heart is filled with thanksgiving. He came as a gift to all who would receive Him. What an enormous love and sacrifice!

Too bad the world tends to celebrate this great gift just during the Christmas holidays and with little thought of its true significance. Because of His coming to earth with His salvation plan, we need to express thanksgiving on a daily basis.  

Each year in Othel’s card those parents say, “Thank you for staying with our son.” That was just a tiny picture of what God did for us on that night in Bethlehem. He sent Jesus – Immanuel – God (staying) with us . . . for eternity.

Holy God, prepare our hearts to celebrate the gift of Your Son this Christmas season and for the days that follow. Teach us how to express our gratitude for so great a Gift. I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Camille Anding is a child of God since age 12.
• Wife of 53 years to Othel; mother to Tahya and Eli;l grandmother to seven grandchildren and two great-grands.
• Retired from photography business with Othel. Now carry cameras on their travel adventures.
• Freelance writer, regular contributor to Hometown magazines, and dedicated to living “my utmost for His highest.”