Last week, our Toyota RAV 4 broke down on a country road in southern Virginia, 300 miles from home.  It was Sunday in the late afternoon and Pam, my sister, Leah, Amanda, and her fiancée Patrick were returning to Richmond after an afternoon of wedding planning at the Waverly Estates wedding venue in Lunenburg, 75 miles southwest of the city.  They were in the middle of nowhere, in an area of the deep south that makes East Earl look like a booming metropolis.

There was a distinct thump as the air conditioning suddenly failed, the temperature gauge spiked to “H” and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree.  Steam billowed out from under the hood as Pam drifted the car off the road and into a church parking lot.  When I got the call up in Pennsylvania, I felt pretty helpless and was kicking myself, because I had heard a slight belt squeal developing the week she left.  But God had things well in hand.

The car came to rest, in the parking lot of God’s Harvest Christian Church, where there were two women still lingering after a late afternoon service.  They were kind, stayed with Pam, and provided a recommendation for a local garage, while back home I tried to arrange emergency towing.  But since it was Sunday evening and in the middle of nowhere, the vehicle would not be towed until Monday morning.  A few minutes later, a middle-aged African American gentleman pulled up.  He assessed the vehicle, and with a slow southern drawl, said, “Well ma’am, I’m no mechanic, but this car ain’t going nowhere soon.” Then, turning to the group he said, “Y’all are believers, right?”  And receiving an affirmative nod, he said, “Let’s lay hands on this here car and pray ‘er back to health!” The two church ladies and man laid their hands on the grill of the car while he enthusiastically prayed.  Pam bowed her head respectfully, while thinking, “I believe in the power of prayer, but I’m not sure this is the way it works.” Out of the corner of her eye she sized up the car….

Meanwhile, Amanda had been unsuccessfully trying to locate a ride back to Richmond.  But no matter how much money she offered on Uber, it was too rural. No driver was willing to pick them up and drive an hour and fifteen minutes back to Richmond and on a Sunday night at that.  But our southern guardian angel was not to be outdone.  He only had a pickup truck and could only take one person. But he agreed to drive Patrick back to Richmond so they could return with Amanda’s car and would accept only $50 for his trouble. The two church ladies, then dropped Pam, Leah, and Amanda off at a Hardee’s Restaurant in a small town nearby so they could wait in the comfort of air conditioning.  Though it was late, everyone made it safely back to Richmond that night.

The next day, I rented a car for Pam and Leah to return to Pennsylvania, but it wasn’t until Monday afternoon that I was able to get through to the little country garage that the church ladies had recommended and where the RAV had been towed.  Finally, around 2 PM, the mechanic returned my call and after examining the car said with that now-familiar drawl, “It looks like a new water pump, serpentine belt, and tensioner pulley, but I may find more as I get into it. I’ll have to order some parts from Toyota… not sure how much it’ll be. Might be a few days…”

To make a long story short, the mechanic got the work done and on Friday, Pam and I drove the rental back to Virginia, picked up the RAV and drove home.  It ran like a champ. And the repair bill? $313.00 including parts and labor! It didn’t need a water pump after all, just a new pulley, belt, and replacement coolant. Maybe there’s something to laying hands on your car for healing prayer!

As the story unfolded, I started making a list of the blessings… breaking down in front of a church, 2 church ladies still in the parking lot.  A generous and godly man to pray and give Patrick a ride.  The roadside towing and a lift to a nearby Hardees. Landing with an honest and inexpensive mechanic and finding on short notice a rental car that was super cheap with unlimited miles.  God is good.

I suppose a cynic might say this was all coincidence or even protest, “Well, if God’s so good, why didn’t he just keep the car from breaking down in the first place?” Pam and I don’t see it that way.  Was it inconvenient? Sure.  Frustrating? Very.  But this is the stuff of life. And in the midst of trials, often in real-time, but always in hindsight, we can see the hand of God providing what we need, just in time, all along the way. God takes care of us.  It’s just that simple.  And we’re nothing special.  He provides that for all his children.

Psalm 46:1 (NIV): “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Psalm 50:15 (NIV): “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Psalm 138:7 (NIV): “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand, you save me.”

What’s your story of God’s provision?