It was a Friday night at Princess Alice Hospital. The gospel group known as the  Dalybread were visiting a ladies ward. It was 7.PM and the patients were still in the dayroom at the end of the ward. They had all wanted to go to bed as they were very tired but the ward sister had a policy of keeping them up until 8PM before the nurses were allowed to start the procedure bath and bed, which took quite a time before the last one actually got into bed.

Mrs. Crook sat in wheelchair with the other sleepy drugged patients, their heads were down resting on chest and as Tony and Sheila entered with a bright hello for everyone,  only one or two heads looked up in response. Tony and Sheila were used to this reaction and Tony unlocked the guitar case as Sheila  enlightened the nuts on the music stand.   When they started to sing the old and familiar hymns and sacred solos from a worn out old blue hymn book several of the old ladies perked up and started to join in. There were one or two remarks and smiles as a well remembered tune was brought to their memory.

Tony started up a chorus “He rolled back the waters of the mighty red sea, He said I’ll never leave thee, put your trust in me”.  Mrs Crook was bouncing up and down in her wheelchair with a beaming smile lighting up her wrinkled face. She turned to her companion If he can turn back the waters of the red sea why have  I  been so depressed?  Yes it was true Mrs Crooks at one time had sunk into a pit of despair and nothing and no one could lift her up.

Until that day in the main meeting on Sunday when Sheila had told the story of how in a traffic jam nine miles long the other side of the Dart ford tunnel we had started to pray for the Lord to remove the traffic before our return journey home.  Later three hours later on our return to Sussex we traveled onto the main A13 to wiz along. Every mile we thought we would join that tailback of heavy traffic but as we proceeded we found that there was not a sign of a traffic jam.  Our prayers had been answered so we started to sing “He rolled back the traffic on the mighty A13” and laughed with joy at the empty road.

Mrs Crook had listened to the testimony and a wonderful change had come over her.  Her depression lifted, she was full of confidence in God and full of expectancy of the Lord return,. She told her companion one day  The Lord is coming soon wouldn’t it be wonderful If I was alive when he returns.. I may not have to die but be wonderfully changed when Jesus returns in all his glory.  Mrs Crooks had got so excited she would often share her faith and testify of the Lord Jesus returning in the clouds..   Yes it was this chorus Tony remembered that had changed her life… He rolled back the waters of the mighty red sea, he said I’ll never leave thee, put your trust in me…