Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A PIECE OF MY HEART...pickle faith

WE ALL ARE DEPENDENT UPON GOD... but have you ever been in a situation where you were so dependent upon His power showing up!

Many times over the years of serving Him, I have found myself in situations where without Gods intervention, I just don't know what I would have done. While we were on vacation a week ago, I found myself in a real situation that I needed God's power in a mighty way!

WE FOUND OURSELVES IN A REAL PICKLE!!! We were driving from Arkansas to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We were about a block and half from our condo when we noticed the air conditioner in the van was not working. Thinking that maybe the air went out, I tried to roll down the window and that is when we discovered the problem. All of the electrical power in our vehicle was gone! When we turned onto our road to our condo ... the van begin sputtering out and we coasted into the parking lot. It was here that our vehicle died.

It was late in the day, not much we could do. So we checked into the condo, unpacked and scrounged around for some leftover snacks from the trip. The nearest grocery store was about 2 miles. Without any transportation ... we were kind of in a pickle. (thank goodness for pizza delivery!!)

The following day, my husband began to call around for help. The first place he started was calling a local church (of the same denomination as ours). He told them he was a pastor and stranded on vacation with car trouble. They gave him a phone number to call. Upon calling that number, the guy could not tow us or help us. That was the end of that help. (okay ...strike one)

We then began to call around to car garages and Ford dealerships. Nobody could tow us. And the earliest anybody could look at the van was in a week! (that was strike two)

Our only other hope, was to call a car rental place and try to rent a car. In just 3 more days we had to have our daughter in Orlando for Fine Arts Competition and we had to find a way to get there. But not to our surprise, the car rentals have no medium size cars or vans to rent. (now that is strike three)

Now what? "What are we going to do" - I remember asking my husband. We have no car. We have no food. Nobody will help us. We have no way to get to the store. We are simply stranded, feeling hopeless (and helpless).

Well, I'll tell you what we did ... we did what most people do in such a pickle ... after we tried to fix things our way ... (Have you ever had pickle faith before?) - WE PRAYED!

And that's when God showed up!

God quickly reminded me that if we would just place our lives in His hands, our faith will be rewarded in ways that we can scarcely understand. We look with clouded vision and limited understanding...but if we seek to rely solely upon Him and His ways, we will never be disappointed.

The end to this story is that we were able to rent a small car for a day so we could at least get to the grocery store to purchase food and other necessities for the condo. Two friends from our church drove from Arkansas to Alabama to help us. They brought us another vehicle to use for the remainder of our trip and they towed our van back home.

WHAT ARE YOU IN NEED OF TODAY?
Trust God, not just today but every day of your life. Trust Him with every aspect of your life, your future is secure when you put your trust and faith in Him.

MARK 11:23 "I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea', and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him."

"FAITH IS TRUSTING IN ADVANCE WHAT WILL ONLY MAKE SENSE IN REVERSE." -PHILIP YANCEY
and that is a piece of my heart today;

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

Even though I already knew the entire story...it still brings tears to my eyes at how much God loves us and wants to take care of us...when we let Him, when we ask Him for help.

I am so guilty of trying to "fix it" and when all else fails...then, I call on Him. You would think that we would learn after the first time...but, I don't always.

((hugs))

Denise said...

Thanks for this sweetie.

Great-Granny Grandma said...

Great post. God is so awesome, and I love the creative ways He sometimes uses to meet our needs. And what a blessing that you are part of a church body who was willing to come and be God's hands to help you out. That speaks volumes!