It was a beautiful spring weekend. A cool breeze was blowing gently through the trees. Newlyweds at the time, Sam and Faith Zimmer are the proud owners of Rogersville Family Dental.
Sam plays the mandolin with many bluegrass bands around the Ozarks. Once a month during lunch, they host a bluegrass jam near their office. Faith is a choral composer, published poet, singer/songwriter, and illustrator. She also creates commissioned paintings and artwork, often incorporating elements such as rocks, limbs, feathers, and other things. Some of those hang in their dental office.
They decided it would be a great time to take a break from their busy lives and go for a hike. So, they got in their car and drove to Mark Twain National Forest in the Ozarks Mountains.
The Mark Twain Forest has many hiking trails, but they like to explore off the beaten path. When they got there, they were surprised that nobody else was taking advantage of the beautiful day. They had it all to themselves. Their cell phones could not get a signal, so Faith didn’t bring hers. She did bring a couple of snacks in her fanny pack, in case her blood sugar dropped, since she has type 1 diabetes.
The sun was filtering through the leaves. It almost seemed as though they were looking up to heaven. Bird songs sounded like a Heavenly choir. Squirrels were scurrying about. They heard a turkey gobble. A deer peeked at them from behind a tree.
Holding hands, they started into the woods. Somewhere along the way, their hands separated as they both became engrossed in the beauty of the forest and started exploring on their own. Sam heard the sound of trickling water and kept walking to find its source. Faith went another way, gathering items she could use in the beautiful paintings she creates.
When Sam finally realized that Faith was nowhere to be seen, he started shouting her name and looking for her. The more he searched and shouted for her, the more nervous he became. He had no idea what direction she might have gone.
Faith was lost, and panic consumed them both. They both stopped, and prayed, asking God for help. Faith had read a story recently, about a missionary woman who asked God to guide her steps, and the Lord had led her time and time again. So, Faith asked God to lead her to Sam. Sam frantically called her name. Faith yelled for Sam. They were too far away to be heard.
After a few hours, Faith’s blood sugar began to drop, but she had already eaten all of her snacks. She lay down on the ground and began to pass out, but slowly her blood sugar started rising. She knew she didn’t have a lot of time before it dropped again, so she prayed and began to walk. She found a cabin nearby, but it was abandoned. After finding a few more empty cabins, she asked the Lord again what to do.
She felt a voice telling her to walk over one last hill. At the crest of the hill was the main road, and a car stopped. The driver asked if she needed help! She was afraid to get in the car with a stranger, but she asked if he had any sugary food. He had a bag of candy in his back seat that he had just bought at the gas station for his grandson, and handed her enough to keep going.
He drove off, and she kept walking along the road. After a couple more hours, a police car appeared and a policeman asked if her name was Faith. She said yes and was shocked he was looking for her. She got in the car, and he took her to Sam, who was in a state of despair, thinking he had lost his wife. He was covered in blood from crashing through the woods looking for his wife. When he saw Faith, he grabbed her into his arms. They both wiped tears from their eyes as they thanked the policeman and thanked God.
Later, when they were safely back home, Sam showed Faith a map of where they had walked. They had been hiking in endless acres of woods, and Faith headed in the direction of the only possible road. If she had taken any other way, she would have wandered for miles and would have never found help.
What makes this story really special is this. The name Sam means God has heard. He heard Sam’s prayers and Faith’s. Sam also means faithfulness. He is faithful to his wife and his God. The name Faith means trust, and Faith trusted God to guide her steps to help her find Sam. Faith also means loyalty and devotion. Faith is devoted to both Sam and God. All of that helped that day in finding Faith on the mountain.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
– Matthew 21:2
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