It was a time of war but there had been a short truce or time of peace, during the holiday season. Now the truce was almost over and people feared that parties of cruel soldiers would take possession of their homes. The people of the little town were especially afraid for the night of January 5 when the truce was to end.
Beyond the town but close to the main road where the soldiers would be passing, stood a solitary house, larger and better than the poor cottages nearby. A godly old woman lived there with her widowed daughter and grandson. The old lady trusted in the Lord and she was frequently in prayer that God would, as he said, raise up a wall around them so as to protect them from the enemy.
“Grandmother,” said the boy on the morning of the dread day, “what do you mean when you ask the Lord to raise a wall around our house? Are you so foolish as to believe that He will do such an impossible thing?”
“My son,” she replied, “I did not intend exactly what I said, but only desired that the Lord would defend us and our town by any means. But you know that nothing is impossible with God. If He wills, could He not do even this very thing?”
The hours of the day passed; night came on. And what a terrible night it was, with storm and high winds and heavy snow. Soon the muffled sound of tramping horses, and sounds of shooting and men shouting told those within the house that the enemy was near. In many homes there was terror and fear but the heart of the dear grandmother was calm and at peace.
No one so much as knocked at the door that night. In the morning they discovered the secret of their escape: the wind had piled up an immense drift of snow between them and the road so that those passing by could not come near the dwelling.
“My son,” said the old grandmother, “do you not see now how easy it was for the Lord to literally raise a wall around us?”
Surely none of those in that house would ever forget that night, and they thanked the Lord for so graciously preserving them. How comforting for God’s true children to know that He can never slumber nor sleep, and is ever watchful over His own. He will keep you, dear children, in your little trials and in your big ones too, if you bring them to Him in prayer.
ML 01/14/1968