The Moment of Three

I’ve always known there is significance in the number three from a biblical point of view.  You have the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Peter denied Jesus three times during His crucifixion.  Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.  I find it even more significant that I can see that same number being used by God to show His power and grace in my life.

When I visit Emily, she always puts together an amazing itinerary of sites to see or things to do.  Typically, we’ll choose a topic and the sightseeing is based on that.  This visit we chose a literary theme, and it did not disappoint.  We travelled the two hours to the quaint town of Monroeville, AL, the hometown of both Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Truman Capote (In Cold Blood).  We visited the original courthouse.  It’s been converted into a museum dedicated to both authors.  The original courthouse that was replicated for the movie To Kill a Mockingbird is on the second floor, and you’re free to walk about and take pictures!

After a bit of time walking around, we started our drive back to the house.  During that drive, the car weirdly started speeding over the speed limit for some unknown reason.  It could’ve been the car acting oddly, or it might’ve been the lead foot that was attached to the gas pedal.  Either way, we encountered a police officer who wasn’t impressed with the race car abilities of a 10-year-old Ford.  While he went back to run the information he needed, we discussed just how much we thought the ticket would cost.

The officer headed back to the window, and firmly told us we needed to slow down and that he was issuing a warning today!  Praise God!  The ticket would’ve been fair and justified, but God saw fit to allow grace on the situation.  While the stop cost us about 15 minutes on the road home, we were grateful that we didn’t have a fine to pay.

We continued on our way home while looking for exit 142; we had seen a local pecan shop on the way to Monroeville and wanted to stop on our return to see what they had.  (And for those reading this who are concerned about my state of mind as I willingly walked into a nut store, I just wanted to see what was there…I didn’t have to actually eat any!)

About 20 minutes from the exit, it started to rain mercilessly.  And just as we got to the exit, we realized there was an accident ahead.  Traffic was at a dead stop.  What we thought was just a small accident turned out to be three accidents, including a semi turning over and crossing the highway into our lane of traffic.

We couldn’t believe it!  That 15 minutes stop we had earned by the police officer had spared us a possible crash in the downpour we were experiencing.  We thanked God for the grace He had shown us yet again, and were just amazed that we had been covered with such protection.

As we drove out of the parking lot, our only choice was to turn onto the highway which was at a standstill with no idea as to how long it would take to clean up the accidents.  As we began our turn onto the ramp, an off-duty police officer was telling the car in front of us just to follow and he would take us down the back roads to go around stopped traffic.  Yet again, God’s power was evident in the fact that we had left at just the right time to encounter the officer.

Often times, we encounter what feels like meaningless moments.  Things happen around us and we don’t think about the significance of why that has happened. Sometimes, it’s truly just because life happens.  But I believe there are far more times that we realize those moments are God-breathed!

In that 1 1/2 hour time span the handiwork of God was revealed and three times, God’s provision was revealed.  I love that the significance of ‘three’ in the Bible is still just as evident in my life today!