We see so many incidents of what can happen when we trust without compromise, even when everything seems to be getting worse. And yet it’s still difficult. I really like the john Wayne movie, “True Grit.” It was about a young girl who would not give up her quest regardless of circumstances. It was a story of courage. When we trust in God, without variance, courageously, we are sometimes surprised by its value.

Too late!
We were headed directly toward a rock the size of a gallon milk carton with no time to miss. All we could do was brace for the collision. It was a rainy morning in western Colorado. We were driving Colorado Highway 145 from Telluride to Dolores in our eleven year old Buick Sedan. We had taken a few days to just enjoy the mountains and towns of southwest Colorado. It had been just what we needed, a relaxing journey, quiet and free of schedules and constant interruptions of life and the stress of city traffic. Then the jarring “BANG,” as we hit the rock that had apparently come loose from the steep bank on the side. The impact instantly destroyed a front tire and wheel and damaged the tire and wheel on the rear axle. Now we had a problem.

Fortunately, there was no damage to the radiator, engine or transmission. That was the good part, and for that, we realized the Lord was with us. I'm sure the limited damage was in response to our prayers at the beginning of our day. At this point we also began praying for His help throughout the remainder of the day. We couldn’t have imagined how He would use the “bad part.” to show his provision. Very soon, A guy in an old pickup truck, coming from the opposite direction saw our plight, stopped, turned around, and came back to help There wasn’t anything unusual about him, just a big guy with a big heart, who said, “I like helping people in need and try to do one good deed for someone every day. The lady I work for won’t mind if I’m late after helping you.” He never identified himself. He just helped me remove the ruined tire and put on the emergency "donut" wheel. Then, without formalities, got into his truck, not even identifying himself, and continued on his way. An angel couldn’t have been sweeter.

Like most people, I hadn’t checked the air pressure in the donut for years. We need air soon, but couldn’t imagine finding a tire pump anywhere close. So, we drove slowly until, within five miles, and to our great delight, we came upon a little convenience store that had an air pump. It was in a tiny historic mountain town of about 200 population, set miles from anywhere. The green sign said “Rico. Elevation 8,835 feet” As we headed out, a little voice whispered in my ear not to drive at normal speeds on the damaged wheel and tire. So we proceeded slowly, not over 40 miles per hour, through some very lonely back roads for 75 miles to the nearest full service tire store in Durango, Colorado. Again, with the Lord’s Prompting and protection we made it.

We called the car dealership from our daughter Priscilla’s, home, only to find that they had had no new replacement wheels for our Buick since it went out of production eleven years ago. The best they could do would take three to five days. Ouch! A visit to an OK tire store yielded the same result. He also advised us not to attempt to drive to Denver, a distance of about 350 miles. Calls to several salvage yards also turned up nothing. The situation was now getting grim. A desperate call to yet another junk yard 10 miles outside of Durango, indicated he had so many wheels he couldn't count them! So off we went on our wounded wheel to yet another junk dealer.

We got there safely only to find that even among a thousand wheels, there was not one like ours. Nor did he have one of the steel wheels that might fit well enough to get us to Denver. Checking his "Data Base" he found one in Hotchkiss and another in New Mexico. Again we were faced with at least three days to make arrangements and shipments. The grim situation had become desperate Driving back to Durango, we tried to imagine a solution to our dilemma. We considered rental cars, airplanes, bus and train.

As we neared Durango, we decided to make one more stop at a relatively new Goodyear tire store, not considering from our last experience the chances were less than one in thousands. But, when I told the sales clerk about our situation, he said he might be able to help! It turned out that just a few days before, the dealer had charged a customer to take some old steel wheels off his hands and no idea what they were going to do with them. They just happened to fit our car perfectly. Moreover, he had two tires that perfectly matched those on the other wheels. Then, when the mechanic took off the damaged rear wheel he exclaimed, “there’s no reason this tire could have lasted for the hundred miles you drove on it!” It had a large bubble on the sidewall and was leaking air as we looked at it.

If we hadn’t stopped at that store we wouldn’t have gotten ten miles out of town before we would have been stranded beside the road with another flat tire and no spare and a wheel that was not fit to put a tire on. In fact it was amazing that we managed the ten miles from the last junk yard to the Goodyear store. The service people soon had us on our way punctuated by our grateful sighs of relief.
The chances that we could drive 350 miles to Denver were almost zero. Can we say “Hand of God?” As we look back, our cup of gratitude fills and overflows.

First, the impact actually left us with a car that was basically ok to drive. Whereas such a large rock could have destroyed any number of parts, from something as simple as a grounding strap to a radiator hose or oil pan, even an axle, leaving Pat and I stranded 90 miles from the nearest town with the additional problems of our car sitting on shoulder of a lonely road, un-derivable and the massive towing and repair expense. Second, a kind man stopped to help mount the donut spare. Third: The donut tire was low, but had enough air to drive on, and it was not an accident that we found an air pump just five miles down the road. Fourth, I was warned to drive slowly. Fifth, The donut and damaged tire allowed us to drive 90 or so miles without incident on a lonely stretch of road, the rear tire lasting at least twice as far as it should have. Sixth. After looking for new tires and wheels at 4 different places we felt prompted to check one more, unpromising, source where we found all that we needed. Seventh, The mechanics had the foresight to check out the damaged tire further. Eighth, and most remarkably, someone had brought the dealer exactly the rare wheels, that we needed a few day before, and the dealer was able to match or remaining tires!

It was like looking into the Hand of God. So, why did He run us all over Durango, when He could have taken us strait to the right place? It was like He was showing us that without Him our chances were less than one in ten thousand of getting going in less than three days (and not needing to return after our car was repaired, or pay for an expensive tow or have the car vandalized). We think He wanted us to understand that He was looking after us.
He had turned an evil situation into a blessing. It was both blessing and an outstanding lesson in trust!

Dear Reader, God has been so dedicated to us, to teach and protect, and we know He desires to do the same for you. Please trust in His provision of His Son’s sacrifice and appoint Jesus as your personal savior. It is exciting to know that there is joy in Heaven over one each person who trusts and turns to Him.