Another Breakdown

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ “CRISIS IN CORN COUNTRY,” THE PRECEDING ARTICLE, READ THAT FIRST.

It is early Saturday morning in Minnesota. We are scheduled to begin a series of special services tonight at the church in St. Paul. We should have arrived there about 5:30 yesterday, got our RV set up, and started gearing up for the services with prayer and preparation. Instead, we are stranded at a KwikTrip truck stop in Owatonna, Minnesota, unsure what our day holds for us.

Yesterday, after our initial recovery from our crisis in corn country, we traveled north about 1-1/2 hours. We stopped at a store so Bill could return something. When we came back out, the truck idled okay but when Bill tried to accelerate, it ran rough and we could not get it to go above 1,000 RPMs.

To condense several cold hours, the short story is that after changing out the fuel filter, cranking open the injector lines multiple lines, making more calls to Jim at Cummins and our friend Jay White, we were no closer to being back on the road and knowing what was wrong with the truck.

We limped the truck to a nearby KwikTrip where we spent the night. Fortunately, we had propane in our tanks so we had heat through the night. But I so wanted two things that most Americans take for granted: electricity and running water.

This characterizes our life. At times like these I feel so unlike a lady of leisure that it is laughable. Right now, I am wondering what our day holds for us and how we will get an hour north to where we are slated to minister tonight. I am also wondering where I will sleep tonight. After traveling from Louisiana to Missouri, then traveling from Missouri to New England, where we moved about for almost six weeks, then traveled back to St. Louis, I was ready for a little physical and mental rest. That is not yet a reality.

I am listening but I cannot hear God speaking a special word for this moment in my life. At times like these, I fall back on the written Word, which is always a comfort and an anchor in our uncertain lives. What I am dwelling on this morning is Psalm 34:19. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” 

Thank God for His Word. How many times I have rested in His Word when rest was not possible any other way. The truth is, even if I do not have the conveniences, cushiony life, and security that most people take for granted, I am immeasurably blessed. And I know that God will get us out of this jam. It is just a question of “how” and “when.”