Vacation Unexpectedly Shortened, Protected from Raging Fire in Gatlinburg

When Pastor Prince taught the importance of reading Psalm 91 as a daily prayer of protection, I took up that challenge. Every night before bed, I would read the psalm. I also sent it to my loved ones to read as well.

During the Thanksgiving weekend in 2016, my best friend and I took a 12-hour drive to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for a weeklong vacation. While on the road, she kept joking with me, saying I wasn’t allowed to cut short our vacation no matter what.

Three days into our trip, I felt it was time to go home. I prayed that the Lord would give me favor with my friend. So that night, I said to her, “I want to go home tomorrow morning. I feel it’s time to leave.” To my surprise, she totally agreed and said, “Okay, let’s pack and leave first thing in the morning.”

The next morning, we enjoyed a peaceful and fun twelve-hour drive home. We also praised the Lord for a beautiful and fun vacation that exceeded our expectations.

When I got home, someone tagged me in a video on Facebook, asking if I was safe. It was a footage of Gatlinburg engulfed in flames. Winds of 70mph were fueling that raging fire. If my friend and I hadn’t left that morning, we could have been consumed by it.

I told my friend about the video and she said, “No one but God and us know how close we were to losing our lives! God had protected us!” Praise Jesus for Pastor Prince. Had he not encouraged me to read Psalm 91, my vacation would have had a very different outcome. Please continue to pray for those who lost their loved ones, homes, and businesses in that terrible wildfire.