It’s Friday. The morning news images are apocalyptic. Massive rainfall floats houses and vehicles downstream. Hurricane winds collapse trees and powerlines onto roadways. Authorities search for victims and close highways. You must be on the other side of the destruction by Saturday. What do you do?
That was the question facing David Jones, 64. He was in South Carolina. His daughter’s wedding was in Tennessee. Getting there meant navigating through Asheville, North Carolina, and Hurricane Helene’s debris field. By Friday evening, he made his decision. He had to try.
“It was just a mangled mess, a disaster zone beyond what I could describe,” Jones recalled. He drove until he reached a roadblock. He told the state troopers he had to continue. Walking. It was pitch dark. His only light was his phone. As he stumbled through debris, mud, and low visibility, he reminded himself, “My daughter’s getting married at 11 a.m. and I’m going to walk her down the aisle.” He walked 17 dangerous miles during the night. If a vehicle approached, he held up a round red reflector he found along the way. At one point a trooper offered him a lift. “We’re all talking about you,” he said.
Jones didn’t just decide on that fateful Friday to have mental toughness. He had been a marathon runner, which requires lifestyle disciplines in order to reach the finish line. He is also a man of faith. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13) is not an invitation to set impossible goals. The context is that you experience different circumstances in life. Whatever happens along your way, there is One who strengthens you with mental toughness for that moment. Trust God’s love and presence in ordinary things, and you’ll be ready when the time comes for your own treacherous walk in the dark. You’ll not walk alone.
I would have been concerned about stepping on a live, downed power line. Invisible erosion can lurk under the pavement, which could collapse under the weight of a man. Weakened trees could fall just as you pass by. And to be walking when normally sleeping… fatigue contributes to trip and fall hazards. But as Jones walked, he enjoyed a Presence far more helpful than a simple red reflector.
He made it to the wedding. He gave the couple the reflector as a gift. “Continue to reflect God’s goodness,” he told them. It will surely remind them that God was with him on the night after Hurricane Helene.
This legendry trek will no doubt become part of Jones family lore. For a moment, this story of resilience, love, and faith captures the imagination of the rest of us. Paul told certain believers, “Your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world” (Rom. 1:8). What a reason to be famous.