Unexpected Blessings

 December 10, 2020

It’s been a long day, but one that was a special gift from God. Last Saturday, my two sons had planned on driving to Selinsgrove, PA to buy a truck Nate had found online, but decided to wait so they wouldn’t miss the Bailey Christmas shopping day. We spent a wonderful day buying and wrapping gifts for two families in need, a blessing for them and us. A few days later, Nate asked what I had planned for Thursday. Matt had to work, so I got tapped for the trip.

Both Nate and I have a strong introvertive streak in us, so I wouldn’t have been surprised to have had a rather quiet ride down, but instead, we talked...about life, church, his business, our dreams...it was four hours nonstop conversation that filled and fed my soul. 

Being a bit more cautious about online auto sales than he, I wondered how this would turn out if the dealer happened to be somewhat of a shyster. Nate wasn’t so concerned. He said that on the phone, this guy reminded him of his father in law. Nate asked if he could take some pictures of the undercarriage. “Nope.” No explanation. It took two more calls before the guy said he didn’t do all that technology stuff. That was his son’s department. Nate had done his homework, so he was pretty sure he was getting a good deal.

After four and a half hours, we pulled into this small independent used car dealership. The truck sat out front, looking good, but when we walked through the door into the office, we were confronted by the aroma of stale cigarettes and a rather grimy, cluttered pair of desks manned by a scruffy grey beard and his equally scruffy son, both with big smiles on their faces. It was like stepping back fifty years and walking into Al Cline’s Kendall station in Shinglehouse, PA. 

We talked for a few minutes, Nate shelled out his money, and he and the father left to do the paperwork at the local PA equivalent of the DMV. While they were gone, the son and I talked, and at one point as we were jawing about the impact of COVID lockdowns he casually slipped into the conversation how people without God were so often afraid. Hmm...

Nate and the father returned and we talked some more, with the father casually saying similar things. Pretty soon the father is saying how people without Jesus don’t know where they’re going. “They could walk out the door, get hit by a truck, and not know where they’re going to end up.” When Nate asked if he could pray for them before we left, the father said, “Wait just a minute,” then then mentioned how his wife is part of a prayer ministry and calling her on the phone and asking her to come over to the shop. She walked in, we held hands and prayed together, and they promised to contact their prayer network of 1500 churches to lift up a specific prayer concern Nate had mentioned. 

As we walked out the door, Nate said, “I KNEW this was the right place!” Yes, it was. Driving home, we both were thanking God for some new friends and an unexpected blessing in a very unusual day.