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33 years ago, a man I knew only briefly, told a remarkable story. He had hitchhiked to California and back, and during that time encountered a series of events that completely changed his life. What follows is one segment of his story. I remembered it because I've faced the same situation. And so, I've filled in some details from my imagination and written it as if he were speaking, that you may experience it with him. THE NIGHT THE STARS SANG There I was, hitchhiking in a place the map had forgotten. I could easily see ten miles of road in both directions, except for a few places where it dropped out of sight and rose again. I had been there, standing, sitting, walking for two hours. Red sunlight skimming the tops of grass and sage, dark shadows fusing with the sky and my own shadow disappearing along the roadside told of waning hope. "Just one automobile, that's all I ask. No one would leave a person stranded through a desert night." I was talking to myself. Then I saw a sparkle in the east. Again it came. "Headlights! ...or reflection from a window," I whispered. I stopped breathing and listened to the stillness. Nothing. Five minutes passed. Then another. Then the faint sound of an engine. "Hurray! I'm saved." A truck took form, wavering in the heat rising from the highway, growing larger. I grabbed my bag, ready to get in, stuck out my thumb, and watched him speed by. Don't these people understand my plight, I thought. How could they be so remorseless as to leave a fellow human being standing in a place like this? Don't they realize that they were probably my last hope? They may have just condemned me to death. Surely they had seen me. The sun was on the horizon but it wasn't bright enough to blind anyone. Another hour passed. No cars. Stars began to appear. It would be at least nine hours before I could be seen. My body was starving for a soft chair. What to do. If I walked slowly, I would be six miles further down the road in three hours. Perhaps I would see a ranch house that is now hidden behind a hill. If not . . . A dry breeze mocked my thirst. My legs and feet already felt like I had gained a hundred pounds. Even if I could find a place to relax, it would probably be occupied - a rattle snake, scorpions, perhaps the infamous recluse spider. "I could die here in nine hours, and my carcass devoured by coyotes. It would all go unnoticed. No one knew where I was. No one cared. No one would miss me. In a few months my parents would wish I'd write more often. They'd worry at Christmas and spiders would be nesting in my hollow bones." I could feel a tear forming. The brightest stars began their usual vigil in the vastness of space, as they had throughout history. What an incredibly tiny speck I was in comparison. The tear fell. I resigned to my fate and sat on the road. So what if a car did come and rum me down. It would be merciful compared to spending hours dying from a snake bite. It was deathly quiet. Then I heard something. I turned. There it was again, getting louder and coming toward me, across the desert. Then I saw it "It's a cowboy," I whispered. He was slowly making his way through the spiny plants. He rode up to me and stopped, leaned forward and grinned. "Howdy. I just bet you could use a friend right about now." An angel wouldn't have been more welcome. "You've got that right. My name's Ed." I stuck out my hand like you would reach for a lifeline. "Mine's Dan." He leaned forward, pulling off a glove and took my hand. That grip is certainly no mirage, I thought. "Whaddaya say we build us a fire an sit around it? I could welcome some conversation, and I sure could use a cup of coffee? You?" "Yup?" I was so glad to see him I caught myself talking cowboy. "Thanks, I'd love a cup of coffee, but I don't even have a cup." "Makes no difference, the lid of the pot will do for one. I don't often wash my cup, 'cuz it wastes water. But ever time I make up some coffee that lid gets a wash by the brew. So, I figure you'd rather have the lid than the cup. But we better quit jabberin' an see how much sticks we can get t'gether before we can't see nuthin." That bright snapping fire in the cool dark was the prettiest thing I'd seen all week. "I guess I could pretty much tell what you were feelin' when I rode up. It's times like what you were just gettin' up against when you most need to know you've got Jesus and his angels with you." He straightened his back and looked at me. "You could'a sailed through the night without a care. Oh, you'da got tired but you would'a also got closer to your God and been happy doin' it. You need to get acquainted." He put on a glove and handed me the other to hold the hot lid. He poured the coffee and kept talking. As he talked I turned my eyes to the stars. I knew in my heart he was right. I also knew I would never have to face such a night again." It was like my soul was singing. A million stars twinkled their chorus. ******* If you are like the rest of us, you've been spending too many miserable nights, on life's highway. You need to be able to sail through those times with confidence. You need to get closer to God. So, How about Ed and the cowboy? They talked about Jesus for about two hours. Ed started to nod. So, they gathered enough prairie grass near the fire to keep Ed from getting too dirty if he decided to lie down. Dan put his rope around it to keep the critters away. Ed woke up as the sky was turning light. Dan had gone without a trace. He picked up his little bag and walked over to the road just in time to brush off the dust and get a ride. I don't want to tell you that God creates bad circumstances so that we can learn from them. But if you have ever read the story of Jacob or Job you know how He can turn a circumstance that started bad into a great outcome. Remember the story about Daniel being thrown into the lions' den because he disobeyed King Darius? Daniel emerged from the den and was elevated to great prosperity. This wasn't a lions'-den type of experience, but to Ed it seemed like it was getting close. Whether it was or not, my guess is that God saw the situation through Ed's eyes, and made arrangements. Did He send an angel? What do you think? Consider this: Why was Dan out riding around when it was nearly dark? Where did he come from? And how come, in all the vastness of that desert, did he ride directly up to Ed and start talking about Jesus? How did he manage to pick up his things and ride a horse away so quietly? Or didn't he ride away? Can angels look like cowboys and ride horses? Does God send His angels to help us understand His love? |
