Unexpected Encounters - Part 1

Although my maternity leave technically started last Thursday, I still had to do some work last week so today was really the start of my leave in my mind. And I spent it getting all sorts of stuff done which was great! I love being productive!


One of the places I went was the GM dealership to get my car's sunroof looked at (it's been leaking) and I had the most unexpected experience. It really made me think about how God is always working in our lives whether we see the visible signs or not, and it sure is fun to have it pointed out in full view sometimes!


First I met a lady who turned out to have quite a fascinating story. We initially started chatting because she had a beautiful, big dog inside the sitting lounge with her and I asked her about him. He was a Borzoi, or a Russian Wolfhound but what was even more amazing was the fact that he was just a puppy (he looked full grown to me!) and he was so calm and well-behaved! So we spent quite a bit of time talking about the dog and I learned quite a bit about that breed. Now one thing I should mention is that I don't always chat up strangers especially if I start talking to them and they kind of rub me the wrong way, like if they are a little too friendly right away or too high energy, maybe you know what I mean. I start feeling uncomfortable with people like that, maybe it's from my time spent in Albuquerque where you just couldn't be too careful about the crazies out there! Well, this lady was neither of these things and so I continued chatting with her, which turned out to be a great way to pass the time because it took over 2 hours for them to look at my car and get me on my way.


I'm going to try to not let this post get too lengthy because it seems so much happened it just the short 2 hours that I spent in the waiting area. I found this lady and her adventure, as I kept calling it, so interesting. What's most interesting to me though is that this lady, let's call her Ruth because I never asked her for her name...pregnancy brain thank you very much..., turned out to be a Christian. And she was such a testimony of trust and faith. She mentioned a few times that she had no money; her car had broken down on her way from Idaho to Chicago, which was how she found herself in Laramie. She was actually taking this dog to a new family who had purchased him and they were paying her travel expenses for her to bring the dog to them. She had just purchased the car that was now broken and later we would find out after she spoke with the dealer who sold her the car, that he would stand behind his word when he had told her that the car would definitely make it from Idaho to Chicago. Well, it didn't, so he was going to pay for the GM dealership to do whatever they needed to do to figure out if it was salvageable. That was one way God was working in this unfortunate situation because there was nothing besides this guy's word that would show that he was responsible for the car's demise. The car was sold "as is" and the dealer was not to be held liable for whatever happened after the car left the dealership. This was just a good guy standing by his word. I love that. 


And there's more. 


The first night, Ruth stayed in a rest stop; I surmise that was because she obviously literally had no money and this was not a part of the original plan thus the rest stop was her only option. The second night though God provided her with a hotel room. She met a random lady in the Walmart parking lot (this other lady obviously realized the same thing that I did and knew Ruth wasn't crazy or at least not the kind of crazy that you need to be afraid of) and the Walmart lady brought Ruth to her home and fed her. Ruth told me that she hadn't eaten in 2 days so that was a blessing in itself. However the food didn't completely agree with her very empty stomach so she was a little wary about going another night without access to bathroom facilities (I know, a little TMI but it's a part of the story!). The lady, not knowing how Ruth was feeling but just being kind, wanted to offer to let her stay in her home but understandably her children were not comfortable with letting a strange lady spend the night with their mother, so the lady bought Ruth a room at the Holiday Inn which Ruth ended up accepting only because she wasn't feeling 100%.


And now, I will probably never know what happens to Ruth but in the short time that I got to speak to her, I learned a lot, and not just about the Borzoi breed. All this information just came out in bits and pieces as we spoke over the course of two hours and little by little I realized I was getting a glimpse into someone's life who had chosen to life by faith. I was reminded of how God provides for us even when we're at a complete loss. Ruth found herself in an unfamiliar town with absolutely no money, food or shelter and yet God was fixing her car, feeding her, housing her and guiding her along this "adventure". Ruth didn't know what was coming next but she told me that she trusted God and that showed to me the amount of faith that this woman had in our Creator and it really struck me. When I left, Ruth had also let me know that if the current car they were trying to fix wasn't fixable then they "happen" to have another car that was comparable to what she needed. Oftentimes we are very shortsighted and when something doesn't work out, we think we need to figure everything out but usually all we need to do is fix our eyes on the One who already has it worked out and knows our future and put our trust in Him. Such a timely reminder for me!


I will finish Part 2 of this story tomorrow!