Jenna awoke the next morning to a brilliant beam of glistening morning sunlight coming through the window of her hotel room that felt warm on her face. She looked up to see her little daughter Emma standing by the window looking at the city outside as Brad sat on the edge of the bed trying to rub the sleep from of his eyes.
"Good morning," she said happily.
But Emma seemed conflicted and didn't say anything. She merely continued staring out the window and appeared lost in thought. This moved Jenna's heart and she got out of bed, walked over to the window, sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around the little girl, drawing her close.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" she asked.
"I miss my friends already. We won't be going back to school anymore, will we?" asked Emma, sadness clearly echoing in her voice.
This poked at Jenna's heart too.
"No, I'm afraid not. But wherever God is taking us, we need to trust Him and know that it's for our own good."
Little Emma nodded, although it was clear to her mother that she still wasn't quite able to wrap her mind around what was happening. Then again, neither was Jenna.
"I'm hungry," grumbled Brad through groggy, sleep soaked eyes.
Jenna grinned. She'd just spent her first waking hours in a wonderful mother daughter moment only to have it immediately spoiled by the bottomless stomach of a ten year old boy. She wondered if she'd done the same things to her parents at that age.
"Get dressed and we can go down to breakfast," she said.
The little boy looked at her for a moment like she was crazy, and then slowly dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom to get dressed. He reemerged ten minutes later fully dressed, but still looking half dead to the world. Emma then went in next followed by Jenna who took the least amount of time getting ready, despite clearly needing far more personal time to get herself back to normal in the mornings. But at this point looking a hundred percent was the least of her concerns. They gathered all their things, slipped down to the lobby, gobbled down the continental breakfast offered to all hotel guests in the main atrium, and then checked out of their room.
The night before, shortly after checking in, they'd been treated to a beautiful five star meal far more ritzy and expensive than Jenna would have ever been willing to pay for, even when she was working a good job and had wanted to splurge. But in the end, when you have a loving Heavenly Father who's looking out for you, even a five star restaurant isn't out of budget. And to say the meal was divine would be an understatement. Even so it was now time for them to go. After finishing their breakfast they slipped outside, loaded their meager belongings into their car and then began heading down the road. They drove straight through for nearly six hours, even traveling through Las Vegas as they headed east.
The massive hotels and other buildings along the strip, visible on their right as they traveled along Interstate 15, intrigued the two children, but were merely passing flights of interest as they continued on their way. They soon passed near Nellis Air Force Base and eventually out into the Moapa Valley. This is where brown, sandy hills turned into green and brown speckled desert that stretched on for miles and miles in every direction with barely a respite in sight. There were no houses, or towns, or anything to speak of anywhere in sight except sun scorched land and seemingly endless, boring desert. And if Jenna was finding the repeating miles of monotony to be mind numbing, she knew the kids were feeling it even more. But much to her surprise, instead of hearing whining and complaining coming from the back seat, she began to hear singing.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path," sang little Emma.
Her big brother soon joined in.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path," they sang together.
"When I feel afraid," joined in Jenna as the song began to grow. "Think I've lost my way, still you're there right beside me. Nothing will I fear, as long as you are near, please be near me to the end!"
The singing brought a smile to everyone's faces and continued on like this for several hours with one new song following another. In Jenna's mind it was like church on four wheels, praising God as they traveled. They eventually made a quick pit stop in Mesquite, Nevada along the way to allow everyone to get out and stretch their legs. Afterwards they forged on as fast and as far as their old car would take them before allowing even it to rest for a time. As the day drew on towards evening the brown and green splotched desert slowly gave way to green speckled hills covered in small evergreen shrubs.
Eventually they stopped in Richfield, Utah, along Interstate 70, a city of intriguing contrasts and breathtaking views. The city also presented an unusual irony that was clearly visible to any travelers passing by there. On one side of the highway was brown, dusty desert hills covered in sun burnt scrub grass. Not a house, a road, or even a single tree was visible as far as the eye could see. It was desert through and through. Yet on the other side, spreading all the way out to the horizon, was thousands of trees and lush green grass interspersed between dusty blacktop roads and colorful houses of every shape and size laid out in neat little rows on tidy little parkways that pierced through the glorious green carpet around them like little black pencil lines.
This lush green, well ordered magnificence was in turn backdropped by blue and emerald green mountains covered in thick, lavish layers of botanical life, and gently watered from above by lite, whimsical rain clouds that gave it an almost mystical garden of Eden feel, despite its location deep in the desert. It was as though the highway was the dividing line between the rich greenery of life, and the barren desert dryness of death. Stray too far to one side and you entered a land of lifelessness. But go into the other and you found the fullness of life, rich and abounding.
After getting some food and gas at one of the stations in town, they continued on until they reached Silverthrone before stopping for the night. However, despite all the distance they'd covered, Jenna now faced a new dilemma. They had enough money to fill their tank. But not enough for a hotel, or even a cheap roadside dive. Realizing that it'd be pointless to get a hotel room if they didn't have any gas to continue, she filled her tank, and then pulled off to the side, parked and sat there quietly as her two kids played in the back seat. Not knowing what to do, she began to pray.
"Lord, we need your help again. You know our situation, and you know the predicament we're in. We need a place to stay for the night, and we're once again out of money with no way that I can see to go on. Please, if you wish for us to continue, I ask of you, give us a place to stay for tonight. You've already blessed us greatly on this journey so far. So I pray, please, bless us again," she prayed.
She'd no more than finished her sentence when a knock came at her window causing her to jump in surprise. Standing outside was a gentleman in a suit and pants holding a pair of key cards in his hand. She immediately locked the doors and then rolled the window down a crack just enough to talk to him.
"Yes? Can I help you?" she asked.
"Are you Barton?" he asked.
Jenna was surprised at this.
"Yeah," she said, unsure what more to say.
"You're heading east, right?"
Jenna's eyes grew wider.
"Yes," she said slowly, not sure how to take this.
The man nervously fingered the two key cards in his hand.
"Well, last night God gave me a dream that you would be coming through here and would need some place to stay for the night, and said to wait for you here. So here you are, and here I am, and...well, this is for you," he said awkwardly.
He then pressed a set of key cards through the window.
"These are the keys to the hotel room God told me get for you. Um, I've arranged for dinner for you and your children and...well, um, God said He'd handle the rest."
The man gulped nervously, turned, and then headed over to his truck and drove away. Jenna rolled the window up and then stared at the key cards. They came
from a strange guy in the middle of a town she'd never been too and she didn't know what to make of it.
"Do not fear. It is safe for you to to go there for God has provided you a room, and has sent me to stand guard so that you may sleep safely tonight," came a voice to her right.
Jenna nearly leapt through the roof in shock and surprise as she turned and suddenly realized there was a very large, muscular young man sitting next to her in the passenger's seat. His cloths and skin were bright white and seemed to have a shining, almost iridescent glow about them. Even stranger was the fact that he'd somehow gotten into the car despite the fact that the doors and windows were all closed and locked.
"Mama, there's an angel in the car," said Emma.
"Who-who are you!?" cried Jenna.
The man cocked an eyebrow slightly and gave her a look of muted incredulity at the fact that her daughter had already figured it out, and yet she hadn't.
"I am sent of God to be your guardian for the evening. Evil forces wish harm upon you. But I am here to ensure that they are kept from their dark purpose," he said.
This was a new one for Jenna. She'd seen God move in some pretty amazing ways already, but to have an angel sitting right next to her in her own car was a new one for her.
"The room is 117. It is waiting for you and your children," he said.
Jenna nodded slightly, started the car, pulled out of the gas station and then made her way, with the angel's guiding, to the local La Quinta Inn. But before they got there they came across a police blockade. As she pulled up to it, several cops in swat gear motioned for her to roll down her window. She complied.
"Driver's license and registration, please," said one of the policemen.
The policeman looked over her papers, and then the car.
"Number of occupants?" he asked.
"Three," she replied.
She was hoping that if the man wasn't who he said he was that the cops would get suspicious and ask them to get out. At that point she could explain her situation and possibly get herself out of this mess. But to her surprise the cop acted as though he couldn't see the man in the car. And in plain fact he couldn't. All he could see was Jenna and her two children. The cop pursed his lips slightly as he studied the clearly nervous mother.
"What's your destination, ma'am?" he asked.
"The La Quinta Inn just ahead," she said.
"Everything alright, ma'am?"
Jenna nodded.
"Yes, we've been driving all day and I'm really tired and you guys surprised me. I wasn't expecting this."
The cop sighed.
"Yeah, sorry about that, ma'am. But we've got some thugs on the loose causing mayhem. We've got them cornered somewhere in this area, but we're not sure where at just yet. You can proceed to your hotel, but please be sure not to let anyone in or answer your door until we give the all clear. I wouldn't want you getting hurt."
"Understood, officer," replied Jenna.
He handed her papers back to her and then sent her on her way. As she pulled away she looked over at her mysterious passenger and studied him with interest. Clearly he was who he said he was. This completely took away her fear, and in some ways made her extremely curious to know more about him. Yet he didn't seem interested in answering any of her questions, although he appeared to know what she wanted to ask. So she said nothing. They soon arrived at the hotel, went into their room and put down their bags. It was at this point that she noticed the man wasn't with them anymore. She stepped outside to see where he'd gone and found him standing guard by the door, arms crossed and face severe and frightening, as though waiting for the worst.
"Aren't you coming in?" she asked.
"My place is here. I will ensure that you remain safe tonight," he said.
Jenna smiled, and said, "Thank you."
"No," said the angel sternly. "Thank God. He is why I am here."
"I will," said Jenna kindly.