Because of Yeshua [Jesus]

Be carefull what you ask for

November 4th, 2009

It all started when I asked God to teach me how to be at peace in all situations.

I had just started my trip to New Jersey to see my son, daughter-in-law and grandson. The radio in our van doesn’t work so I figured this was a good time to spend talking with God. I confessed that I had been having a hard time listening and being at peace and that silence was something that I needed to learn. Then there was a loud noise, as if something had stopped working. The noise was followed be a loud bang and the power steering and power brakes were gone. The engine heat began to rise rapidly. I started down an exit ramp, turned the engine off and let the van coast to a stop on the shoulder.

I told God that this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I was reminded of what He had told the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient.” I told him that I was listening and would simply trust him. When I looked under the hood, I found smoldering rubber on the alternator pulley, where the fan belt should have been. That didn’t seem like a very good sign.

I called my wife and told her what had happened. As it turned out, the exit where the van had come to rest was for Hillsborough, NH. Seven or eight miles from Hillsborough is a little town called Deering, where my wife’s uncle has a cabin. She gave me uncle Bill’s phone number in Manchester and I called him. I told him what had happened and asked if he would be over in the Hillsborough area that day. Uncle Bill is a retired priest who sometimes fills in at the parishes in the Hillsborough area. He said that he was just going down to breakfast and then would be going to the camp in Deering. He said that if I could give him about an hour, he would come and lend what assistance he could. I told him that would be great.

He arrived as promised and took me to see if we could find someplace to get the van fixed. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and all the places available were closed. I’m pretty sure that God knew that in advance.

Since there wasn’t much else we could do, we went back to the van, retrieved some of my things and proceeded to the camp. I told Uncle Bill about my prayers and he seemed to think that God had answered them. I had already come to that same conclusion. Uncle Bill remarked that God has a sense of humor and that He surely knew that I needed this break.

Uncle Bill had to go back to Manchester but told me I could stay at the camp as long as I needed. The only problem was that I would have to figure out how to get back to town the next morning. I figured that since I had been hiking all summer, 7 or 8 miles wouldn’t be much of a walk. I settled in for a nice quiet evening. I had brought along a book entitled Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster. What a “coincidence”! I was able to read several chapters and spend time listening to God’s guidance through this book and through Scripture. What a great evening it was, just me and God.

Monday morning, I got up and had some breakfast and headed back to town. I had only walked for about a mile or mile and a half, when a nice young man stopped and gave me a ride to the Chevy dealer. I told them what had happened and asked if they could tow the van in and fix it. It turned out that the tow truck was on another call but I was assured that as soon as he was finished with that call, he would get my van. The van was finally retrieved at about 11:30 am.

I had a good morning sitting in the waiting room. I spent a good deal of time talking with an older man about politics, taxes and the general decline of society as we had known it. I can’t say it was the most positive of conversations but we did talk about old cars and a few other “fond memories.” Later, I talked with a young woman who couldn’t understand why it was taking so long to change the oil in her car. After all, she said, she had tried to flirt with the mechanic. She finally decided that he must have just been concentrating too hard on fixing her car to notice. My final conversation was with an elderly lady who assured me that God had his hand in my situation. I didn’t have the heart to admit that I had asked for this, in a sort of way, but did agree that God surely did have his hand in my situation.

At about 2:30 pm, I received the good news that the mechanics had been able to determine just what the problem was. The bad news was that they would have to order parts and that the parts would arrive sometime on Tuesday. The good news was that once the parts arrived, it should only take a couple of hours to make all the repairs. The bad news was that I would have to find a way back out to the cabin for another night. The good news was that they had a car that I could rent. So, here I am, back at the camp writing this down. Looks like another evening with the Father. I think that God is trying to tell me that He is in control and that when He is ready to let me go, the van will be ready. Thank you Lord for answering my prayer in a way that I could hear you.

The neat thing is that I have not been upset by any of this. I put it in God’s very capable hands and that’s that. This is the way that I want to live, trusting that whatever happens, God is in control and I will let Him lead. And, if this is what it means to be a follower, well, I’ve always enjoyed a good adventure.

Entry Filed under: Discipline, Prayer, Silence