Walking in the rain, soaked.

God seems to work in ways that I don’t always agree with.

I went to college in the middle of nowhere and I had to drive home through the middle of nowhere in North Dakota. It was almost a six hour drive. Once, two hours into driving home back to Minneapolis, my car started to act up. It was pouring rain. I started praying like crazy that God would let me get home. I listened and He said that He would take care of me. I was assured that He would.

When my car broke down half a mile outside of Litchfield ND I was very angry. “You told me that you would take care of me!” I was furious with God, how could he promise He would take care of me and then this happens? I got out of my car and started walking in the pouring rain into town.

I was less than 200 feet from my stalled car a large truck stopped and asked me if I needed some help. Two large men with very friendly faces seemed very concerned about this 95 pound 18 year old girl walking in the rain with an apparently stalled car behind her. Stupid trusting girl that I was I told them that my car broke down, and yes, I certainly needed some assistance. The told me that they had tow chains in their truck and they would tow my car about a mile into town to the nearest mechanic, which happened to be the only one open on a Saturday. In fact it ended up being the only auto shop open on my whole route for the next two hours.

When we got to the auto shop they told me that yes my car could be fixed but they needed to run to another town for the part and it would be at least three hours. The brothers knew the mechanic and told me later he was not “great for women to be around.” So when they heard it would be a couple hours they asked me if I wanted to go to Ma’s for coffee. Thinking “Ma’s” was diner I agreed, I thought that would be a good way to pass the time.

Ma’s ended up being their Mother’s. It was a large farm on the outside of town. I was welcomed with open arms. I was offered dry clothes since mine were soaked. Ma put mine in the dryer. Pa taught me how to play cribbage. I was fed lunch. I even had fun. A few hours after I had got there I got the call that my car was fixed. I thanked them as many times as I could.

The brothers drove me back to get my car. The bill ended up being less that I expected, and was easily able to pay it. After many more thank yous I was back on the road on my way home.

An hour or two down the road God quietly whispered in my ear. “See I took care of you.” He was right. He took care of me beautifully.

He has always taken care of me beautifully. Never, it seems, in the way that I want to. But I am always held. I am always in His care. Even when I don’t like it. Even when it seems like what He is doing is hurting me more than helping me. I don’t know why He works the way He does. But I know He is working, because somehow-someway things always seem to work. And I seem to come out better for it.

Right now I’m walking through the rain, grumbling, angry, frustrated, and so tired. I don’t know how He’s going to do it this time, but I know He will. He always does. And I know that it won’t be in the way I want Him to. But in the end I can look back and say “Yes even in that situation He took care of me beautifully.”