Lost in Chicago

Before the day of cell phones and GPS, I had cause to be apprehensive about a trip to Chicago in the dead of winter. Wasn't Chicago notorious for its snow and icy roads? Was I foolish to be making such a trip? I claimed as my verse Deuteronomy 31:8 (NKJV):

“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

The first day the weather was beautiful, and I rejoiced. But after spending the night in Springfield, Illinois, I got up the next morning to snow and ice. I almost slipped and fell on my way from the motel room to the car. I crept my way into Chicago.

I called to receive directions. My friend Hind turned the telephone over to her American friend to tell me how to get to her apartment. The friend forgot to tell me that their street had two names, depending on your location. After entering Chicago and finding Lake Shore Drive, I looked for Fullerton Avenue but never found it. I have been lost in so many cities in different countries. I cried out, Oh, Lord, why do I always have such trouble with directions? 

Finally, I found a telephone booth and called Hind and her husband, Amr. With Amr's directions I found the way. 

The next problem was where to park. I saw their building but there was no place to park. I tried a side street and somehow managed to park parallel in the snow. I took off in the direction I thought was right. As I walked around the block toward their building, there was Amr. I don't know how we knew each other, as we stopped and stared. 

"You're Amr." 

"You're Pat." 

He walked with me to my car to help me find a closer place. He carried my suitcase, and we went jubilantly up to his apartment.

After I rested in their apartment for about an hour, there was a telephone call for me. "This is the International Mission Board in Richmond, Virginia calling to ask if you've lost your wallet in Chicago."

"Not that I know of. Let me check my purse." I looked, and no wallet. Before I discovered my wallet was missing, someone at the Board in Richmond, Virginia relayed this to me. "How in the world did you know?" I asked.

"A girl found your wallet and called." She proceeded to give me her name and address. Hind told me it was just one street away. 

Oh, God, before I even missed it and panicked, You watched over me. It reminded me of Isaiah 65:24 (NIV):

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”

Hind and I quickly walked to the address, entered the building, and a lovely young woman opened the door. After finding the wallet with my identification, credit and frequent flyer cards, and a great deal of cash, she had telephoned my employer in Richmond, Virginia and Delta Airlines. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was missing.

God arranged for her to discover my wallet lying in the snow, where it had fallen when I opened my car door.

God watches over us. He gets us to where we’re going when we lose our way and makes sure we find things we carelessly lose. I know firsthand that God is always available and never too busy to respond to our needs.

Copyright © 2019 Patricia J. Frost, used with permission.