Old Dog V
The Journey
Bob Neumann, 6.26.2001
Dear Steve and the WPA, There are two things i had hoped to share with you and was not certain where to start. Sister Edith alluded to an event i shared with her and i guess i should deal with this first.
For a month and a half we were packing up our house where we had lived 17 years, remodeled once, rebuilt a year later. When getting bids from moving companies we were given lists of what they could not carry and what they preferred not to carry. We seemed to have a lot of both. So we planned to pack my wife’s car and my SUV(Isuzu Rodeo) to the hilt. So i put new shocks, and did a break job on the SUV. Changed hoses and but on new front tires. I believed i was ready.
The SUV is 9 years old with 83000 miles. Never in that time had i loaded it even near to what the manual said it could carry.
If anyone out their drives a SUV or MINIVAN they know both are made to feel like a car in all the main areas. TURNING, ACCELERATING, BREAKING.
I can not tell you an exact weight i loaded on, but thanks to mrs olddog i had to add a lot at the very last minute, so my well set plans were blown away.
In my teens i had learned to drive on farm tractors and medium sized trucks. So it had been a long time since experiencing the “fun” of driving something slow and heavy.
I thought i had checked everything and was ready. I had thought i had the trip well planned out.
We had agreed that i would lead and my wife would follow. Everything went well for all of two minutes. Just beyond our home was the entrance to the expressway and i had anticipated the evening rush hour to have cleared by the time we started.
Up to this point i am just telling a story….but when trouble begins, GOD is there..…
I was trying to accelerate through a left turn onto the onramp only to see barriers across the ramp, they had closed the ramp 2 hours before we set out. That did not bother me because as i turned my front end would not turn and my back end rolled and swerved…in bumper to bumper traffic. It is not funny how simple terror can make you pray clear and loud.
And ABBA spoke…”TAKE IT SLOW, EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. JUST KEEP MOVING AND TRUST ME.”
I crawled through the next turn and it felt like i was on a boat in 10 foot seas. Thankfully the detour to the expressway was 4 miles and traffic crawled. In that twenty minutes i relearned how to drive a truck…..but the lesson was only beginning.
We eventually got on to I-95 and had lost the light, and ran into a light rain. Which made the curves challenging because my rear axle seemed to want to continue in one direction while the front was going in the other.
And ABBA began to explain…but not about driving.
“THIS JOURNEY TONIGHT IS TO TEACH YOU ABOUT “THE ANOINTING”. MANY HAVE BEEN SPEAKING OF A NEW ANOINTING TO COME. IN REALITY THEIR IS ONLY ONE ANOINTING BECAUSE I NEVER CHANGE. REMEMBER THE CENTURION? EVEN HE RECOGNIZED MY SON WAS “UNDER AUTHORITY”. MANY DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANOINTING AND AUTHORITY.”
“ANOINTING IS THE MARK THAT SETS MY SERVANTS ASIDE FROM THE SHEEP AND CHILDREN. IT IS THE CHEVRONS ON A SLEEVE, THE BARS ON THE SHOULDERS. I ANOINT UNTO DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY. THE PROBLEM, SON, IS FOR MANY THE ANOINTING IS POWER. THEY ARE BEHIND A WHEEL AS YOU NOW ARE. BUT THEY HAVE NO CLEAR DESTINATION SO INSTEAD OF STEERING AND CONTROLLING THEY LET THE VEHICLE GO WHERE IT WANTS. SO NOW YOU KNOW WHY SO MANY YOU HAVE SEEN HAVE PLOWED OFF THE ROAD OFTEN KILLING MANY IN THEIR PATH”.
(i hope you understand i did not open my mouth at any time)
“WHEN YOU ARE “UNDER AUTHORITY” YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN AN ASSIGNMENT. THE ONLY THING OF IMPORTANCE IS GETTING TO YOUR DESTINATION WITH THE CARGO YOU WERE GIVEN. MY TRUE SERVANT WEARS THE ANOINTING LIKE THIS TRUCK. IT EMPOWERS THEM TO GET TO MY DESTINATION. TO DO SO TIMELY AND SAFELY YOU HAVE TO KEEP BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL AND YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD. MANY TOOK MY ANOINTING CASUALLY AND HAVE CRASHED AND BURNED. OTHERS THOUGHT TO MAKE THEIR OWN PATHS AND GOT LOST. THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO WERE AFRAID AND STOPPED, NEVER TO RESUME.”
“THERE ARE APPROPRIATE TIMES ON YOUR ROAD SON TO STOP FOR REFUELING, EATING AND RESTING. I KNOW YOU WOULD PRESS ON TONIGHT, BUT THOSE WHO FOLLOW YOU CANNOT. MANY MUST FOLLOW YOU WHETHER THEY OR YOU KNOW IT. SO CUT THEM SOME SLACK. MY ANOINTING IS THE SAME, BUT THE AUTHORITY IS GIVEN TO A DEGREE OF ACCOUNTABILITY.”
“ALL AUTHORITY I HAVE GIVEN MY SON, AND HE DELEGATES AS HE SEES FIT. HE HAS GIVEN ALL AUTHORITY UNTO THOSE HE CALLS FRIENDS. ALL ARE GIVEN FROM IT WHAT THEY NEED TO SERVE.”
With that the rain stopped and we pulled off a few hours north of Miami. The next morning with my tires cold i found the rear tires with about 15lbs and brought them both up to 35lbs. We then drove to Columbia SC and stopped for the night….we had 2 hours of light and i figured we could cover the last 160+ miles but had that feeling it was better to start in the morning.
So as we rounded Columbia i saw a billboard for “THE KNIGHT’S INN” and got ready to pull off that exit. As we left I-26 i saw a sign for a hotel called “(THE)MASTER’S HOUSE”….and i had this sudden desire to stay there for the night (WOULDN’T YOU?). But when off the ramp THE KNIGHT’S INN was right there. I drove in circles for 15 minutes trying to find THE MASTER’S HOUSE…i saw the sign 2 more times but could not find it. By this time my wife was getting upset…..and i heard that “Still…Sweet VOICE say.… YOU CAN”T GET THERE FROM HERE.” So we stayed at THE KNIGHT’S INN.
The next morning it took 3 hours to go 154 miles.… once in NC I-26 goes into a 6% grade that goes on and on…..i crawled up the mountains and blew my radiator and waterpump..… as we pulled into our apartment complex.
I’ll tell you about Asheville later… in Columbia at the KNIGHT’S place of safety i had a dilly of a dream….will share that next…. bob
Up Next: The Dream Of The Forest