No Small Thing

I am sitting at a table on the wraparound porch at my in-laws farm house.  After three days of travel, it is nice to have a “do nothing” day.  We will leave here tomorrow for Traverse City to see friends for a couple of days, and then we take a hard left that will lead us to Idaho.

It has been a great journey so far.  For those of you who were worrying, you will pleased to hear that Crystal and I made it all the way from South Carolina to Michigan without one argument.  Not even a small one.  We left on Tuesday after lunch, drove to Virginia and stopped for the night.  Wednesday, we drove to Ohio, and spent the night at a dairy farm.  Elmer and Carolyn are the parents of our good friend, Noah, in South Carolina. Noah’s wife, Emily, encouraged us to stop there on our journey, promising us that we would leave encouraged and refreshed.  How right she was!  We spent Wednesday evening, sitting around the picnic table, just talking about our great God and how He works in the lives of His people.  Then they took us to the Wooster fireworks show, that was supposed to start at 10 pm, but that actually started at 9:30 because rain was moving into the area.  So we watched the grand finale  from a distance as we were driving to the show.  But I was totally cool with that, less traffic to deal with.

The next morning, Emily’s mom, Barb, and her husband, Larry, joined us for breakfast, and we all took a tour of the farm together.  (Homeschool field trip).  Before we left, we all formed a circle, held hands, and these two special couples spent some time praying over us, our family, our journey, and our future ministry.

 You know, when someone used to say to me, “I’ll be praying for you,” I never really gave it much thought.  It was a nice sentiment and all, but those words never really impacted me.  But over the past couple of years, and especially the past few months, that one statement has become so dear to me.  Especially when I know that the person saying it actually means it.  What I like even more is when someone says, “We want to pray over you right now.”  It is so precious to me when people that I respect, admire, and love put their hands on our heads or shoulders, and ask God to pour out His provision, power, and blessing upon us. To fellowship with them around the throne of grace- WOW!  How awesome is that?  I have been encouraged and challenged by all of the prayers prayed over us regarding our quest.

We arrived at my in-law’s house at about 7:30 last night.  Actual drive time from SC to here-about twenty hours.  Without hauling a huge trailer, this would be a fourteen hour trip.  Needless to say, I am driving at a much slower pace with the trailer.  Instead of my usual 75-80 mph’s, I am driving at the astounding rate of 45-55 mph’s, with downhill gusts of 65.  I kind of feel like the tortoise from the children’s story, “Slow and steady wins the race.”  That’s’ okay, though.  I had determined before we ever drove our first mile that I was going to take it slow, and that we would arrive precisely when God means for us to.  And it has actually been rather relaxing.  I don’t have any deadlines.  I am not trying to break my speed record from the last trip.  We stop when we want to.  I have not been impatient.  My wife can tell you that that alone is a good moral victory for me. 

I know that we still have many miles to go; we are only about a quarter of the way to our destination, but our mighty Captain has been so faithful thus far.  Of course, I expected nothing different.  The trailer, which was probably my greatest concern, is traveling beautifully.  My kids are traveling even better.   Man, they are troopers; I am so proud of them.

 And here’s the really cool thing, I have not paid one penny out of my pocket.  My expenses thus far, including gas, hotel, food, and numerous coffee breaks, total about $520.  But before we left SC, we started receiving farewell cards and gifts.  $20, $100, $50, $250, $160, a $50 gas card, Starbucks gift cards.  We made it from South Carolina to Michigan without spending any of our own money.  Not only that, but God has also provided other things.  A friend gave us a hand held video recorder.  Someone paid for some work I needed to have done to my Tahoe, $386 value.  I needed a weight distribution kit for my trailer, and a friend actually had one in storage that he gave to me.  That saved me over $500.   My kids were given gifts to entertain them on the road.  I mean, so many blessings have been poured out on us. 

Believe it or not, I have a tendency to worry about the details.  How is this going to work?  How are we going to make it?  Will we have enough?  And God shows me time and time again, “Son, I have got you covered.  I am taking care of you.”  He is parting the rivers of the Jordan so that we can walk through on dry ground. 

Thanks to everyone who has favored us with a blessing from God.  Your gift to us is no small thing.  In fact, I am coming to believe that there are no such things as “small things.”  I believe that everything done in the name of the Kingdom is a big deal.  There was a boy that gave only a small lunch, but it fed thousands.  There was a young man that only had a small sling, but it brought down a giant.  There was a general that had a small army, but it delivered Israel from the Midianites.  There was a man that had a small faith, but it healed his son.  God takes our “small things” and makes them mighty.  It all counts for the glory and honor of our great King.