The Reflector

When David Jones walked his daughter down the aisle two weeks ago, she had no idea that he had slogged more than 17 miles  through mud and debris to arrive just in time for a quick shower before heading to the church.

The afternoon before the wedding, Jones set out to drive two-and-a-half hours home from Boiling Springs, South Carolina to Johnson City, Tennessee. Nearly 30 miles from his destination, however, Jones was stopped by state troopers who informed him that his car could not travel further due to washed-out roads and bridges damaged by Hurricane Helene.

Rather than turn around and return home, Jones grabbed his backpack and set out on foot with a stick in one hand and his phone with the flashlight turned on in the other: "I told the troopers that my daughter is getting married at 11:00 and it's now 2:00 and I've got to get to Johnson City to walk her down the aisle," he said.

At one point, Jones had to navigate through an eight-foot-high debris pile as bulldozers worked in the dark to move the mess. He managed to find a place to duck under the limbs but then found himself ankle-deep in mud that felt like quicksand. As he heard the engine of an approaching bulldozer, Jones prayed for the strength to pull his feet free before the construction vehicle descended; he got out of the way just in time, but only after leaving behind a boot that was stuck in the mud. Realizing that he could not continue his trek without footwear, Jones dug in the mud until he found his shoe, and then returned to his trek through the dark.

As he neared Erwin, Tennessee, a state trooper asked whether Jones was "the one trying to get to his daughter's wedding" and said, "Everyone's talking about you!" After the trooper drove Jones two miles closer to his destination, Jones resumed walking and found a small red road reflector on the side of the highway that he carried for safety.

When a white truck passed and the driver offered Jones a ride for the final eight miles, he realized that the driver was a former colleague who couldn't sleep and had decided to check on the storm damage: "Talk about providence and divine intervention," Jones said. "Not only was this someone I knew and trusted, but he couldn't sleep! I knew God was keeping him awake to help me."

Once at the wedding, Jones did not want to detract from his daughter's ceremony, so he waited until the reception to share his story during his toast. And he gave the new couple the road reflector he had used for safety along the debris-strewn highway: "Let it help you remember to always be each other's protector, especially in the darkest hours, like it did for me," he told them. "And continue to reflect God's goodness as you always have."

As we pray for those healing from Hurricane Helene and those in the path of Hurricane Milton, what kind of reflector will you carry through the dark -- trusting that the Lord will protect you as you continue on your journey?