(Almost) Scary Times in D.C.

Hey friends! Hope y'all have had a great weekend and were able to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. I have been on fall break since Wednesday at 4:30 (to be exact!) and am so thankful for the time I got to spend with family and friends. Classes start back tomorrow but after this post, it's back to reality as I have the privilege of reading a book and studying for a test. Yay!

My friends Daniela, Mallory, Morgan, and I went to D.C. for two nights over the break.  While we did some exciting shopping, eating, and sightseeing, and I definitely want to write about that later, I am dying to tell y'all of a couple instances when we could sense God's hand of protection during our trip.

Friday night, Morgan and I officially became women when we rode the metro all by ourselves! While I have been on the Metro and Subway several times, this was the first time I have rode without an adult. My daddy, specifically. Mallory's sister, Copeland helped us buy our tickets and down two floors we went to wait for the Orange Line labeled "Vienna."  Because our travels didn't require us to switch trains, we were relieved we could stay on the orange line until we reached our final destination, that was about a 30 minute ride away. Even though I was so excited for this little escapade with Morgie, it was nice to see a few familiar faces as we approached the platform to wait for our train. Rewind about 30 minutes. We had gotten dessert at a cupcake and a frozen yogurt place (yes, two desserts, but they were right next door to one another!)

and ran into two couples who were also eating cupcakes AND yogurt. (Side note: we started talking to them after I started singing the song "Summertime" by Rascal Flatts when I saw the "Summertime" flavored cupcake. One of them thought I was singing another song about summer so he started singing until we realized we were sing two completely different songs!) Anyway...It was nice to know someone else who would be getting on our train. Especially once one of they guys informed us they had seen a guy who looked really angry and had been yelling really loud that would also be getting on our train. Even though this angry guy was in the back and we were in the front of the car, it was easy to sense his rage and our new friend we met at the cupcake/yogurt shop seemed uneasy about him. He made sure to stand between us (Morgan and I) and the guy, in case something were to happen, and asked if we knew where to get off and if there would be someone to pick us up once we got off the Metro. Even though the angry guy got off at the next stop and there was no harm, Morgan and I were so thankful to have our new friends to watch out for us.  What are the odds we would meet these people, leave at different times from the cupcake/yogurt places, walk separate ways to the Metro, and then be getting on the same line at the same time and have them there to keep us calm about the possibly dangerous guy. We were reminded that God works out every detail of our lives and He was faithful to protect us and send these new friends our way!

Fast forward about 24 hours when the girls and I were headed home last night. We needed to stop and get gas so we stopped at a station that was not even sketchy...there was even another gas station next door.  It wasn't  even like we were in the middle of nowhere! Daniela, who was our wonderful driver, got out to pump gas. Morgan was sitting up front while Mallory and I were in the back talking to one another. Thankfully Morgan was looking around and being attentive because as soon as Daniela got back in the car she said "lock the windows" , "drive off!" Before I could even realize what was happening, two guys probably a little bit older than us, were walking towards our car and one of them was making a scary face at me as he put his hand on my car door. I don't know what his intentions were, but as soon as he realized Daniela had her foot on the gas he backed off and him and his friend walked off in the direction of the gas station next door. It all happened so quickly that I  feel like we didn't even have time to be scared until after it had happened. It was so weird because a girl had drove up and dropped them off right beside our car. It was too creepy and we were just so thankful that nothing bad happened. We thanked God for His protection once more and asked for His continued protection for the rest of the trip.

Wow...it was time to head back to North Carolina. Thank you Lord for Your protection and a great time in D.C.! More posts to come about shopping, eating, and sightseeing!