This is a true story…
A ministry I worked for in Iowa sponsored a concert by a South African Worship Leader named Louis Brittz. He came with a band and a few other support people.
After his concert on this particular evening I had invited him and his “entourage” to our large, lovely home in Newton for Amy’s home-made Mastaccioli.
It was a fun evening with a bunch of Afrikaners. We were spread out through our house talking in small groups and sharing.
Then it was their time to move on to Iowa City. I was giving their driver directions to the interstate when I noticed the blank look on his face. “I’ll just drive to the interstate and he can follow me,” I thought. So they loaded in their van. I got in my minivan, and off we went.
Newton is small. From our house you take a right, take a left, take a right and there you are. But I felt compelled to drive them right to the interstate.
As I was driving I had this interaction with the voice of the Lord:
THE LORD: Chris, Are they following you?
ME: (I look in the review mirror) Yes, Lord, They are following me.
THE LORD: Chris, Are they following you?
ME: (Looking in my rear-view mirror again) Uh, Yes Lord. You know they are following me.
(a few blocks later)
THE LORD: Chris, Are they following you?
ME: Yes L….(then I realized something more was going on)
So I slowed down and made sure they were right behind me. I drove past the Wal-Mart (in the cornfield, of course) and to Interstate 80.
You drive under the interstate and take a left onto the interstate to head to Iowa city, but as I came to the on-ramp. I saw that the sign that said Iowa city had been twisted so that the arrow pointed in the opposite direction, wrong-way up the off-ramp.
So there I sat, in my van, in the middle of the road with my arm hanging out of my window pointing to the left while the road sign clearly pointed to the right.
I could see the Afrikaners hesitating, like we were frozen in time. No other cars were around, so we just sat there. Eventually, he pulled around me, took a left, and headed to Iowa City.
I drove back into town, flagged down a local officer and reported the tampered sign.
When I got home I was pretty excited to talk to Amy (It’s always exciting when the Lord talks to you.) But as I talked, all the color drained out of her face. She said, “Did you see the man I was talking to? Well, he was in a horrible car crash that killed his wife and his daughter, and severely injured him. He is still trying to recover from his injuries. He said they were hit by a drunk driver who had inadvertently turned the wrong way, onto an off-ramp, and was driving the wrong way on a highway.”
Glad I listened.
chris
To learn about my man, Louis Brittz: Louis Brittz
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