Last Thursday late afternoon March 14, we were driving along in East Texas and had almost reached our destination. The day had gone well and we were looking for our exit when suddenly the RV began to lose power. The engine was still running but the accelerator produced no results. We made it to the next exit and coasted to a stop on the side ride. After shutting off the engine and checking for any obvious signs and finding none, we started the engine and slowly began to drive with no apparent problem. We stayed on the service road for a mile or two and found a place to park at a Truck Stop.
We had plans that evening so we unhooked the car and left. That evening we received an invitation for breakfast the next morning and after a good nights sleep in the RV at the truck stop, we enjoyed a delightful meal and visit with some new friends. Then it was time to return to the RV and decide what to do. After several phone calls we decided to back track about 30 miles to a dealership that worked on diesel engines. The decision was made after very specific prayer asking God for direction.
When we arrived at the dealership we were met by the man who had spoken to me on the phone. He had agreed on the phone to point out a part on the engine he thought might be the problem. Because of the dealership’s schedule, they would not be able to fix the problem until the next Monday afternoon (it was now Friday noon). Not wanting to wait that long and hoping we could fix the problem ourselves with a little assistance, the mechanic agreed to help.
He pointed out the part and said we could buy it at the parts department inside. In talking with him about another symptom I had seen on the way there that morning, he determined we should check the alternator. Interestingly, we had just done that a few days before at a friend’s house and found no problem. But guess what, the alternator was not working. By now we have taken almost an hour of his time and so far he is not going to charge us.
He showed us how to get the alternator off and said if we drove outside the gate of the facility we could do the work on the driveway there and when we needed help to exchange the pulley from the old to the new, we could come back inside and he would do it. The plan went well as the parts department found the part, and we spent the afternoon getting three bolts off that had been there for 25 years (with our limited set of tools).
But we needed another tool so I went inside and he loaned his to us. After another problem happened when we began to hook it up, he decided to come out and check. He then went back in and rolled his toolbox out there and finished the installation in the driveway of this dealership. He had been working there for 13 years and was a foreman. I mentioned to him that I didn’t want this to be a problem for him to be out there in the driveway helping us to fix our vehicle and he told me, “Don’t worry about it.”
He completed the installation and when we started the RV and he checked, the repair had been a success and the problem had been solved. He said there would be no charge and we were free to go on our way. But this mechanical failure getting fixed with minimal cost and done without having to wait, was not even the greatest blessing. The greatest blessing was the opportunity we had to share the love of Christ with our new friend.
When we first arrived, it appeared he might not be having the best day. He also used some language that caused him to apologize a time or two. But a little later he asked what our business was in traveling and when I told him I was a minister and we were traveling to meet with Christians, he began to apologize. As the day went on, our interactions became much more pleasant. And after a few questions, he began to open up and share his life story and his present condition. He was not attending church, he had left a church at the age of 16 because of how someone at the church they attended mistreated his mother. He is not living for the Lord, but he has a Christian friend and he was considering his relationship with God. So we both commented how God had brought us together that day and I blessed him for how God had used him to help us. I specifically told him that we had prayed that morning and I fully believed that God had directed us to him in answer to our prayer.
God wants to turn our problems into blessings. But he needs our help. He wants us to humble ourselves in prayer. He wants us to acknowledge every day we need Him. He wants us to look to Him for direction, for help, for mercy, for grace, for our daily needs. He often brings these problems into our life so we will look to Him. When we do, He often is then able to turn our problems into blessings.
