Wednesday, April 9, 2014

All the Way Home!





  
All the Way Home!

              The sun hadn’t risen beyond the hillside yet, and the kitchen was warm and steamy as I was folding in fresh blueberries into the muffin batter in the little kitchen of our Beaver Valley Country store.  I was about to pour the batter into the muffin tins for baking when I heard the screech of a car out on the highway and a car door slam. I hurried up as I knew someone needed me to open the doors to store early today.

            I unlocked the door and I was surprised the car had driven away leaving a young woman standing there alone looking sleepy-eye lugging a heavy backpack. I invited her in and inquired about where she was headed today. I was stunned to hear her say―”France!”    

            She was in her early twenties and spoke English well. She told me she had been staying in student housing at the state park studying art on a special scholarship. But she received a call in the middle of the night from her mother that her brother was extremely ill and she needed to get back home to France right now! She had no car, no busses left this early in the morning and she needed to get to the airport soon where a ticket home was waiting for her!

            Did her family know what they asked of her? From this remote place on the west coast of Washington State to France looked to me like mission impossible. I felt sad I couldn’t help her out myself, at the least to get her onto the ferry to Seattle.

            Just then, another car pulled up and a woman rushed up to the door declaring how happy she was we were open! She needed to get gas for her car now for she was in hurry for her trip today! It was twenty miles to the next gas station, “Am I ever grateful to see you open this hour of the morning, I had no idea how little gas I had for this trip today,” she declared.

            Without hesitation the young woman from France, walked over to the new customer and asked if she could drive her as far down the highway as she could this morning. She explained her story of her brother and her urgent need to get to the airport as soon as possible. Could this woman help her in anyway?

                There was a pause as the woman studied this eager young woman. And then a miracle happened! This woman, who just now happened to nearly run out gas, said to our surprise,

            “Yes I can help you even more than you may think. I myself am on the way to the airport this morning to meet a relative there. I’ll be happy to drive you all the way to your destination.”

            We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with love.”

 Romans 5:3-5 NLT


            Was this a coincidence? No, I knew it was God’s perfect timing. We saw tears of joy in the young woman’s eyes and heard her say, “Merci’! God has surely blessed me today!”

            Sometimes God requires us to make a choice to trust Him, believe in Him and stay steadfast to the journey we are called to go. No matter what it takes, no matter if it’s a trip to the airport and all the way home to France.

 “All the Way Home” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© April 9, 2014

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