My Pioneer Heritage (part 2)

James Johnson and his wife Marie Larsen

Family tradition has it that during their trek across the plains, James who was lame, would leave camp early and Mary would break camp and travel with the company, which would pass James about noon.  At the end of the day's journey, Mary would make camp and prepare for the night.  James would come into camp after dark.

One afternoon after the company had passed James, they heard a loud thundering noise and saw a huge dust cloud back over the trail they had traversed earlier.  It was a buffalo stampede, and they were so sure that James had been caught in it that several men with shovels went back to bury him.  They were surprised to see him walking along the trail.  As they approached him, he asked them where they were going.  They said they had come out to find and bury him.  

When they got to camp, everyone was excited to hear how he had escaped the stampede.  When asked about it, he said "yes" he had heard the rumble like a mighty ocean wave.  He thought of all the hardships he had suffered and blessings he had received in coming this far and dropped to his knees in prayer.  As the wave of buffalo reached him, they split and flowed around him as if a huge rock barred their way.  As they passed, the split closed, and they thundered on their way, leaving him saying a prayer of thanksgiving.

 The power of prayer is real.  Without it, I wouldn't even be here today.  Our loving Heavenly Father definitely answers our prayers and wants the best for us.  May we all pray for strength in these difficult times.