We met early in the morning on Thursday for the 220 kilometer drive to Agra. As is typical for this time of year, Delhi was eerily silent in the thick fog. We piled into a hired car for the three hour drive. Usually the fog lifts mid-morning at the latest, but not this day. It was unusually persistent and driving was slow in places. We finally arrived in Agra around 11:00 and made our first stop at the Agra Fort. It's an impressive fortress, sitting on a promontory just across the river from the Taj. The pair of ancient buildings stand as silent monuments to a world of power, wealth, passionate love and familial vengence. All the necessary elements for a gripping story.
One of the best views of the Taj is from the fort. Not on this day, however. Though the sun was breaking through the clouds, only the outline of the white marble dome and minerets could be seen across the sandy riverbed. It was still majestic, though wearing a whispy mantle of white draped through its columns, towers and around its massive dome. Just before we went to lunch we'd gotten word that the Taj was closed to the public for a few hours because of a visiting delegation of VIPs. Somehow the driver had found out this information while we were wandering through the fort enjoying the scenery. We headed to a restaurant for a bite of lunch while we waited for the Taj to reopen.
We would have about 3 hours to wait, and around 5:00 the public was admitted. Until that point, we were not allowed to enter the ticket office but were kept behind a gate in a holding area. Once the office opened, there was a stampede unlike anything I had ever witnessed. Sometimes you hear about athletic fans storming the gates at a soccer match or black Friday sales at WalMart. We were smart enough not to be at the front of the pack but watch it charge ahead. Sonny pushed his way through like a cultured Indian gentleman. Nicely, politely, but with great determination.
There is something unusual about viewing one of the best known sites in all the world. It feels both like an old friend yet very new all at the same time. In the waning hours of daylight, the marble exuded an icy coldness especially in the encroaching fog.
As the evening drew on, the white marble was shrouded in inky darkness.

Pulling out of Agra, the fog began to settle in again. The drive was slow in places, coming nearly to a standstill on occasion. We all knew that what was typically a three hour drive would likely be much longer. We were ready to settle in for a slow journey. We had no idea. Around 10:30, traffic came to a complete stop. We sat for a few minutes and realized that cars were turning off their engines. Word moved from car to car that there was an accident ahead blocking the road. How long would we be there? The driver stayed attentive while the rest of us slept off and on. I woke somewhere around 1:30 and asked where we were. We had moved 5 kilometers in the past three hours. We weren't even half way home yet, and there was no hotel to pull in and spend the night. We were committed to finishing our journey to Delhi. Our driver pulled into a restaurant along the way for a cup of tea. He was told that a milk truck had hit another truck running it off the road, then jack knifed and completely blocked both lanes of traffic. A crane had to be brought in to remove the wreckage before traffic could move again.
We finally arrived at home at 5:00 in the morning---nearly 24 hours after we had gotten up the day before. At the end of the adventure, we stopped to pray, thanking God for bringing us safely home and for keeping us kind and loving to one another all along the way. We sensed His presence and His peace in the midst of a very trying situation.
We're reminded again of God's sovereignty in all things. Whether delayed in waiting to see one of the wonders of the world, safety on the road, navigating through unpredictable and difficult weather or treating one another with grace and peace in all circumstances, God's presence was obvious. I'm convinced that He put us through this for a reason, and we're still discerning that purpose. But for now, thank God with us for His presence and His peace in the midst of so much uncertainty and danger.