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The road we travel on in this life is filled with joys, hardships, trials, blessings, and many temptations. We must always be on guard to protect our spiritual lives from the evil and to strengthen ourselves so that we can make it back to our Heavenly Father.
One of the dangers to be aware of while traveling life’s road is the Highwayman. “The early Christian writers variously saw the thieves (or robbers) as the devil and his satanic forces, evil spirits, or false teachers. The Greek word for “robbers” used by Luke implies that these thieves were not casual operators. The traveler was assailed by a band of pernicious highwaymen in a scheming, organized society that acted with deliberate and concerted intent.” (Welch 2007)
Years ago, when I was eight years old we lived in Georgia. One particular day, my mother and I went to Atlanta to pick up my father after an Army TDY (an acronym for Temporary Duty Assignment).
Before we left that day, my father felt impressed to call and warn my mother to not let anyone in the car should anything happen. She agreed and we left that evening for Atlanta, Georgia in an old sedan. It was getting late so I fell asleep in the backseat where I could stretch out.
As we traveled through Atlanta, it was dark with heavy rain. Soon, we entered into bumper to bumper traffic in miles of road construction. We stayed at this slow pace for a time when someone rear-ended our car. It was mild, but enough of a bump where my mother felt she should pull off the road to assess the damage and possibly exchange insurance information.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a shoulder on that busy road and lots of roadwork was piled up leaving little room to get out of the way of traffic.
She managed to pull over just in time to look up and see a tall, black man who had come around to the passenger side of the car wearing a police uniform. He tapped on the window and immediately my mother leaned over the seat and opened the door for him. He slipped into the car, slid next to her and held a knife at her stomach.
It was at this point that I woke up and heard soft talking and the interior car light was on for me to see the situation before me. I was extremely confused by what I saw. My mother had a black man that I didn’t know sitting next to her with his arm around her.
As a child I wanted to just be still and quiet and watch, but I was immediately told by the Holy Ghost to say something. I didn’t know what to say and was confused so I sat there watching another few seconds when I was told again to say something.
I then sat up and said, “M—o—m?” The man turned his head quickly around, startled by me and jumped out of the car. Shaking and upset, my mother quickly shut and locked the door.
We tried to get back into traffic, but no one would let us in. My mother tried to flag down several police cars, but to no avail. This was back in the days before cell phones.
She finally was able to get into traffic and met my dad at their pre-arranged location. We told him what had happened and then searched for another hour for a policeman.
When we found a policeman and my parents told him the story he asked incredulously, “Don’t you read the papers or watch TV?”
My parents explained that we weren’t from Atlanta. The policeman then explained that the man who was sitting in our car a couple of hours earlier was a notorious rapist and murderer who waited in that part of Atlanta for a white female alone in her car. He would then follow her and then hit her car with just enough force that she felt she needed to pull over, but not hard enough to leave any damage. He would then perform his heinous acts and move on to the next victim.
My mother’s life was spared that day because of my being in the car with her. Not just that I was there, but that Heavenly Father had awakened me and His spirit prompted me to act. I received a testimony at a very young age that if we will listen to his Spirit, we will be safe.
Highwaymen of old would lie on a road in wait to rob a person or carriages of their money and valuable possessions. Many times they left their victims badly beaten or dead. Like the highwaymen in days of old, we have the forces of evil trying to rob of us our most precious possession- eternal life.
If we strive to stay on guard and close to our Heavenly Father He will protect us as we listen to the warnings and counsel of the Spirit, “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.” (D&C 8:2).
We need not live in fear of some possible evil or temptation that may befall us as life is given to us that we might have joy too.
We have been promised, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
While there may be times that it may seem we are traveling life’s road alone we are not. We always have the watchful eye of our Heavenly Father and the companionship of the Holy Ghost. We can escape the snares of the Highwaymen if we are careful and follow the path laid before us in the scriptures. Let us take the higher road so that we may live with Him again.
Works Cited
Welch, John W. “The Good Samaritan: Forgotten Symbols.” Ensign, February 2007.
This article was written for the “Highway of Life” Relief Society Activity which is available on the Homemaking Cottage Deluxe Edition. Subscribe today for this activity as a download and 1057 new home and family related ideas to enrich the sisters in your ward.
Shiloah Baker is a mom of seven, pregnant with #8, married to the man she’s madly in love with. Exercise is her vice. She runs a The Homemaking Cottage and homeschools. In her spare time she sews, crafts, writes and reads. Join us at The Homemaking Cottage Deluxe Edition for 1057 ways to improve your home and family! http://www.homemaking-cottage.com/ And don’t forget to join our ezine for free ideas. Free Homemaking Newsletter
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