He was a short, skinny guy standing next to a small pickup truck. I asked if I could pray for him. He was probably in his 40s. A kid was sitting in the passenger's seat. The guy hesitated, and then, boldly, "Sure!" So he let me pray for him, and I did, asking for God to protect him.
"Which way you going?" he said suddenly. That took a bit by surprise. I wasn't sure how to answer. North or south? Heaven or hell? I finally told him north. "Well, I'll pray for you that you'll be safe in the storm that will be coming in that way."
The guy told me he and his son were headed to Newton for a Taekwondo competition. He pointed to a sticker on the back side of his truck that said "Ultimate Martial Arts: Team Singleton." He told me he was the coach for his boys, although the older son had given it up. Still, he smiled when I said it was a good father-and-son thing.
I was thankful later for the prayer that I assume he prayed for us. A funnel cloud -- or something like it -- swirled just west of our town for a half-hour tonight. It certainly got our attention and got us to the basement. But we missed the worst of the storm -- just some small hail, a lot of rain and wind.
And by the way, today was our 10-year wedding anniversary. Not exactly the ideal way to spend it as we packed everybody into the basement. But we got to see our kids smile, and I got to see Mary smile. It was a good day. And it's been a great decade.
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