"For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety...

Welcome back to Providence 365; I (Barbara) am so glad you're here.

This past Monday could have been a truly horrible day in our family.

My daughter-in-law was in an accident, with her two little ones in the car. She was driving down to our house for the afternoon, about 45 minutes' drive on the freeway here in the LA area. Apparently, the car next to her decided to merge into the space her car was occupying, not once but twice. Honking made no difference, so she swerved to avoid a collision, over-corrected, her tires got caught on the shoulder, the car spun around, and she ended up backwards, colliding with a tree on the embankment between the freeway and an on-ramp.

She called me to come and get them from off the side of the freeway after passers-by, a policeman, and a tow truck driver finally removed her car from the tree. But, she was using the tow truck driver's phone, because he had locked her keys in the car and couldn't get the doors open.

Eventually, he did get the car unlocked, the car was drivable, and she and the children continued their drive to our house. Arriving quite shaken, as I'm sure you can understand.

I just wanted to hug them all very, very close. For a long time. Repeatedly.

Except for a few scratches on the bumper, a torn heat-shield, and a sore neck for a day, they are no worse for the experience. But, it could have so easily been so different.

If she had been in a different lane and swerved into traffic; if the merging car had actually hit her car; if she had collided with the guardrail; if the lone tree hadn't been there to prevent her from going into traffic on the on-ramp; if, if, if...

Psalm 4:8 says,
"In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety."

Intense experiences like this help us to realize just how much God, each and every day, watches over and protects His people. Every time we lay safely in our beds at night, or arrive safely at our destination, or live another day with any measure of health and happiness, it is a gift from His good hand.

So, this week, look for those times where you might otherwise overlook His Providence in keeping you safe. In the routine of life, we expect things to go on as they always have in the past, forgetting all to often to thank Him for that routine, that ordinary day. Which isn't so ordinary at all...

If you are following along with Pam and me this year, please stop by the forum and join in the conversation. We love seeing all your wonderful layouts posted in the gallery, too. Here is a link for the download; I hope you enjoy using it.

May God bless and keep you.