The Will of the Worshipful Master

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Robert Johnson 32°

June 11th, 2012. Almost 8 months ago I visited a local lodge to be in the audience for a 3rd degree. The night was great, it was my first visitation of any lodge outside of my own. I remember walking in and headed downstairs for some fellowship and a meal.

I remember it smelled like something good was cooking. I smelled ham and eggs. Now normally I am not very into breakfast for dinner, but these fellas did a great job. I had 2 plates of ham and eggs with cheese and onions. It was going to be a great night. I still remember how cool it was to watch another lodge within my district perform the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, the lecture, the lodge room, the presentation was just so very different, but still so very familiar. I loved it.

Just before the final gavel that evening, the Worshipful Master said, “Thank you all for coming out tonight, and I know you’ll all get home safely.” I said my good-byes for the evening and I hopped in my car, which coincidentally my mom had been driving for a year or so and I had just gotten back. I was parked on the grass and had to maneuver my car around several other vehicles parked in the grass as well. I attribute my excellent skills of the successful navigation of this make shift parking lot to my off-roading skills.

But all kidding aside, I started driving home. I was on the phone with my wife via a Blue-tooth hands free speaker, telling her about the night and how nice it was. I hung up with her and decided there was enough time to give my mom a call as well since I was twenty or so minutes from home yet. As I started to press the handsfree device in order to give a voice command to call my mom, I heard something. It was a honking from a car. I looked and saw the car in front of me get side swiped and then I swerved out of the way as well, but without effect. I had been hit on the driver's side and then I smashed into the car in front of me, essentially a t-bone.

Needless to say my car was totaled, at first I couldn’t tell what was going on. I couldn't see anything, that is, everything was blurry. In the confusion I pressed my hands free device to call my wife, because my phone had disappeared in the collision, but was still synced. I got a hold of her and she immediately scolded me for not calling 911 first. So I hung up with her, and still not knowing why everything was blurry, I hit the hands free device again and I told it to call 911, the reply from the device was “Sorry Robert, I cannot dial 911”. So I then proceeded to look for the phone, and in the process, I saw my glasses laying there on the floorboard of the car.

 Both airbags deployed, ripped
the tire off and broke the axel.

Mystery of my blurry vision solved. I then found my phone which had been displaced a great deal from the impact and called the police. You can imagine the rest of the evening. I ended up in the emergency room where they checked me over. My only complaint? My left arm. It hurt bad. They gave me an X-ray and found no breaks. The Dr. was stern, she said, "you'll need the next two or three days off to recoup, you're going to be extremely sore tomorrow and the next few days." She gave me a prescription for some muscle relaxers and sent me home.

You can imagine my night, in the sense that the first time I ventured out to another lodge, this happens. The next day I had to meet the insurance adjuster out at the scrap yard where my car had ended up. I’ll never forget his words that day. As he was there looking over the car, reviewing the police report, noting the approximate speeds and impact zones, he said, “So how’s the driver?” I said, “You’re looking at him.” At that point he looked at me and said, “You’re kidding me, you run this accident ten times and nine out of ten you're dead pal. Go buy a damn lottery ticket.”

So that night when the Worshipful Master of Sequoit Lodge #827 in Illinois bid that I get home safe, I guess he holds a good weight with the Man upstairs, because although I was in an accident, I did get home safe. My friends and Brothers call it my death day and I’m sure when the one year anniversary of that day comes up, I’ll be having a pint of lager with the many people I consider my manifold blessings. So I propose a toast to Worshipful Masters and Past Masters everywhere for their gift of good fortune to their brethren. After all, He did say "I know you will get home safely." and I did get home safe and sound. And so you all know, I never got sore and I never had to use any pain medication. That's some serious divine providence.

~RJ


Sir Knight Robert Johnson, 32° is the editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog.  He is a Freemason out of the First North-East District of Illinois. He belongs to Waukegan Lodge No. 78. He is also a member of the York Rite bodies Royal Arch, Cryptic Council and Knights Templar, and a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago.  Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts a weekly Podcast (internet radio program) Whence Came You? which focuses on topics relating to Freemasonry. In addition, he produces video shorts focusing on driving interest in the Fraternity and writes original Masonic papers from time to time. He is a husband and father of three. He works full time in the safety industry and is also a photographer on the side as well as an avid home brewer. He is also working on two books, one is of a Masonic nature.