They really shouldn’t have gone. Winter in the northern California wilderness without wearing heavy coats and boots isn’t a good time to go for a family outing in the woods. But Fred Dominguez just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to continue the annual family hike. He headed out with his three children—Chris, Alexis and Josh.
About 3:00 p.m. on that December day, they parked their pickup truck and began hiking into the deep woods. But soon they were wandering around and getting hopelessly confused. They decided to head back. But was it to the left a little way? No, maybe it’s just a little farther straight ahead past that fallen log. Wow! ... It sure is getting dark. Maybe we should just call for help. Uh-oh, I guess we should have realized there wouldn’t be any cell phone service way out here.
Fred didn’t realize a big winter storm was coming, one that was going to dump two feet of snow on their heads. Cotton T-shirts, sweatshirts or thin, cotton socks and comfortable shoes are good for riding around in a heated pickup truck but not too suitable for riding out a winter blizzard.
The mess the four family members were in reminds me of how those who know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour can really get themselves into trouble by being just as thoughtless. Heading off each day without spending time in God’s Word and taking it with us through the day is a sure way to get cold, very cold, in our souls. Psalm 1:1-21Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:1‑2) gives some very helpful instruction: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”
They certainly started out carelessly, but what Fred and 18-year-old Chris did next sure made sense. Wandering around a forest in freezing temperatures as snow begins to fall is bad enough, but in the dark it would be very foolish. They gathered as many fallen branches as they could find and made a small lean-to shelter. Then they crawled inside out of the wind and falling snow and huddled together for warmth.
Believers in the Lord Jesus need shelter too. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous [runs] into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:1010The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)). We can travel along with our strong tower, the Lord Jesus Christ. He can shelter us from those bitter winds that would make us turn cold in our faith in Him.
The family made it through that first night huddled together for warmth. The next day they found a concrete culvert under an old logging road where they could have some protection and wait for rescuers. They spent the second cold night in the culvert, but the next day no rescuers came.
Word had reached their town of Pleasant that the pickup had been found at the edge of the huge forest. All fifteen employees where Fred worked were given the day off to search for the family. But even two more days of searching, guided by the sheriff, brought no happy result.
Back in the culvert Fred had torn his sweatshirt into strips to wrap his children’s feet. Somehow Alexis had lost her shoe, and the cold was threatening to freeze her foot. Staying close together, they put their feet on each other’s stomachs to warm them up. They hadn’t eaten anything in three days, but they sang hymns to keep up their courage.
This family wasn’t really alone in this difficult situation. Each one knew the Lord Jesus as Saviour and knew He loved them and had not abandoned them. Fred and his children had the Lord’s promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:55Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)). But for those of you who have not accepted Him as your very own Saviour, it would have been a frightening and hopeless situation, knowing you could be facing death. You can have the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and strong tower if you will admit to Him that you are a sinner and need Him to cleanse you from your sins. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)).
During a break in the clouds, a rescue helicopter took off and circled the area where the searchers struggled through the woods. It swung out about a mile and a half beyond the search parties, banked and made a final turn to head back for the day. The clouds were closing in and snow was beginning to fall again.
Hundreds of feet below in the culvert, Alexis heard the helicopter and excitedly told her dad. He raced out of the culvert, stumbling over rocks and through deeply drifted snow, yelling as he frantically waved his arms.
High above, the pilot saw a bit of movement and glanced over in Fred’s direction. Then it wasn’t long before Alexis and Josh were being bundled into the warm helicopter, while Fred and Chris had promises that the rescuers would be back for them in minutes.
What did Fred have to say? “When the helicopter turned around, man, I was just praising God and saying, ‘Thank-you, Lord! Thank-you, Lord!’ because I knew we had made it!”
How good that they thanked the Lord Jesus first and then thanked the rescuers. Fred said that he would go back out in the forest again, but next time he would go prepared. Let’s go prepared too with God’s Word and prayer. His love flowing through His Word will keep us toasty warm in a bitterly cold world of sin.
ML-11/02/2008