We were moving! My husband, Alan, had built high sides on the back of our pickup truck. We had carefully packed it with all the things we valued most, because we didn’t expect to be coming back to Colorado. After we had squeezed in everything we could, we covered it all with a tarp, and on top of that we tied on our rocking chair and wheelbarrow. Just under the tarp at the very back where he could easily reach it, Alan packed a small box with all the tools he thought he might need in an emergency. Since his other tools were heavy, they were packed at the very bottom of the load and up near the front.
Now we were on our way, Alan, myself and our two little girls. We were somewhere in Utah when one of the tires had a blowout. Alan took the small box of tools out from under the tarp. To his dismay he didn’t have the right sized wrench in the box to loosen the nuts on the wheel. We had just bought brand-new tires, and we needed a different sized wrench from those in the box. That meant we would have to unload the truck to get to the other tools.
As we had traveled along we had been singing hymns. One was a special favorite:
“Unto Him who loved us - gave us
Every gift that love could give;
Freely shed His blood to save us;
Gave His life that we might live.”
Now we needed another gift. We needed help with this flat-tire problem, and we knew the Lord Jesus would help with this too.
We unloaded the rocking chair, wheelbarrow, mattresses, and boxes, boxes and more boxes at the side of the road. I did my best to keep the girls entertained and happy as Alan dug for his tools.
Alan finally climbed out of the truck with the right wrench, but he had his doubts that this hand wrench could loosen the nuts that had been tightened at the garage with an air wrench. Just like that, an air truck pulled up beside us! (It is called an air truck because it is equipped with powerful air wrenches and other tools like they use at a repair garage.) The driver was on his way home from work and saw our unloaded truck and flat tire, so he stopped to ask if we could use some help.
When we told him we would be very glad for his help, he ran back to the truck to gather up the things he would need. Soon he came back, shaking his head. “That’s really an unusual nut. I’m sorry, but I don’t have the wrench you need.”
Alan held out his hand. “Here’s the right wrench,” he said, smiling. All his digging had been worthwhile after all. It wasn’t long before the man had the flat tire off and the spare tire on. We thanked him gratefully, and then we raced the sun going down to get the truck reloaded before dark. We just made it.
Once again we were on our way, thanking the Lord for His help in sending the right man with the right truck at the right time. We also thanked Him for His saving grace that had cleansed us from our sins and brought us into His family. A child can depend on his father for help, and because we are God’s children we knew we could depend on His help with this problem. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:11<<To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.>> God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)).
Are you a member of God’s family? If not, why not let Him save you from your sins and make you one of His children. God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, loves you and died for you. If you will tell Him that you are a sinner and need a Saviour, believing that He died on the cross for your sins, He will wash them away and make you one of His children. “What must I do to be saved? . . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3031).
JULY 20, 1997
ML-07/20/1997