She saw the police lights flashing behind her, and she pulled her car over in the small Kentucky town. She had never been pulled over before in her 28 years of life. She looked for her purse, which held her licence, and remembered that she had left it in the trunk of the car, so she got out to get it. She told her four little sons, ages six, four, two, and one, that everything was alright. They were snug in their carseats and weren’t even visible above the doors of the sedan she was driving. As she opened her truck, the lone officer asked for her license. The trunk hood stood open, hiding the boys from the officer. “Miss, you ran a red light just down the road.” The young woman protested and insisted she hadn’t, but the officer demanded. “You need to follow me to the police station to pay your ticket,” he said. It was 1985, a time of innocence. The young woman, not knowing of traditional police procedures, agreed to follow him. But something seemed out of place as the young mother got back into the car and started to follow the cruiser. They drove down a long, winding road that led to a gravel road where the cruiser turned right and headed down it. An uneasiness started to creep into the young woman’s mind. Something didn’t seem right. But wanting to obey the law, she continued. Down the road a mile or two, the police cruiser pulled into what looked like an old run-down elementary school. She could see the officer get out of the car and go into the building as she pulled her car into the parking lot. Everything just seemed out of place to her.

As she turned her car off, she thought, “I just need to run in real quick, pay the ticket, and get out. She got out and stood at the car door. There were no other cars in the lot. She glanced around. There was no other building in sight. As she looked back at her four young sons, she heard in her mind, “Take the boys in with you!” Her first thought was, “What a pain, getting them all unbuckled, and getting them out of the car and having to carry an infant while herding the other three little ones by her side. But the feeling enforced by her inner voice said, “Take the boys!”

My wife related this story to me when she picked me up from a business conference I was attending in Columbus, Ohio. She had been visiting my brother and his wife in Kentucky and was on her way back to get me when she was pulled over.

She finished her story by saying that when she entered the building, it was abandoned. The officer was standing with one leg on a chair, which was the lone piece of furniture in the huge open room. “He was clearly caught off guard when he saw me come in with four little kids in tow,” she told me. “He stammered and looked very uncomfortable as he told me to pay for the ticket. I don’t even recall writing it, I was so scared.” She left safe and sound.

That check never got cashed, and I can’t say 100% there was bad intention on the part of the officer. But no one is ever required to pay a ticket on the spot, and you never have to follow an officer to a police station to do it. The police, as a whole, do such an excellent and essential job. But I’ve seen, learned, and read about rogue officers here and there, who take advantage of unsuspecting women when they are pulled over for some imaginary violation. There have been reports of rape and even murder in a few instances.

 “…but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19)

And that day the Lord was not in the wind, or an earthquake, or in fire. But He was in the ‘still small voice’ and I am eternally grateful that I had a wife who listened, and followed the promptings of the spirit.

I’m sure none of us really know how often the Lord tries to communicate with us about danger, be it physical, spiritual, or financial. But I believe that the Lord speaks to us all more often than we recognize. It is the ‘still small voice’ that whispers to our souls. If we listen and then follow, we can find protection, peace, and safety in a world where danger is present in all its forms.