Yesterday, as a side comment on another thread, I mentioned a bit of testimony regarding my faith in God. I must have peaked some curiosity, because several folks commented that they’d like to hear it (@Crystal_Dunaway, @Benedictine, @Bexsteroonie ) It’s long, but I hope you find it worth it to read to the end. So here goes:
It was Christmas Eve, 2014. I had taken the day off to take care of all the last minute things that needed to be done. We had family coming in. My Brother-in-law, his wife, and their 4 kids, plus some additional guests for dinner. There were groceries for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, stocking stuffers…all that kind of stuff. It was a rainy, nasty day, and the main roads choked with people doing the same thing as I.
My bride was still working, and like a good wife, had me on the phone, directing me here and there, ensuring that I accomplished every mission. She was like a Forward Air Controller vectoring in an airstrike, and I was flying the sortie.
While on the phone, I took a short-cut to get around traffic, and was rolling down a residential street, when I saw a little flash of brown crossing my path from left to right. “What the…Crap!” I said. “What happened?” asked my wife. “I almost hit a puppy. It ran right out in front of me and I had to lock up the breaks!” “Is it alright?” “Yes…and I’m OK too, thanks for asking.” “Go find it!” “OK, hold on…”
I pulled over, dropped the phone on my seat, and proceeded to search for the “puppy”, which I found shortly thereafter:
I texted this picture to my wife, and she immediately called me:
“OMG He’s SOOOOOOO CUTE! What are you going to do with him?”
“What am I going to do with him? You told me to go get him. He obviously belongs to someone. I looked around and there was no one chasing after him. Call the shelter and see if they are open.”
My wife called the shelter. Not open. She called the police non-emergency line, and was soon contacted by the animal control officer, who told her to have me meet him at the shelter. I did. He scanned the dog for a chip. No tags. No reports of a lost Tea Cup Pomeranian. He said, look, I’m due to get off in a bit. Is there any way you could keep the dog until we open on the 26th? If someone calls, I’ll call you. Not thinking…I said “sure”.
So now I have a lost dog, more errands to complete, I have a daughter who has been begging for a Tea Cup Pom since she was like three…oh, and it’s Christmas. I know what you’re thinking. Great Christmas gift for your daughter, right? Nope. We have 2 dogs, and this dog belonged to someone. So that is what I’m thinking when I realize I have to bring this dog home…on Christmas. God was having a great laugh at my expense.
So I finish up my errands, which include going to a nail salon to buy several gift certificates. Can’t leave the dog in the car, so in he goes with me. Oh the ladies thought this was just adorable. "Sure, these are “gift certificates” " wink wink. Yep, God is up there just rolling now.
As I am headed home, I get a call from the Animal Control Officer. “Someone left a message on our machine reporting the loss of a Tea Cup Pomeranian, matches the description perfectly. I’m just getting ready to call them back. Is it OK to give them your number?” “Oh thank God. Yes. Please do”.
Shortly thereafter, a very relieved man called me, and we made arrangements to meet near my house. I pull in and a the man, plus his little girl, are anxiously waiting for me. “Man, you saved my Christmas. My little girl has been a wreck since our dog, “Snowy” (?) got out , without us noticing. My wife has been chewing my ass. We’d been searching for 3 hours.”. Me, “Hey, no worries. We’re dog people, and I have a little girl and a wife…Dude, I can relate completely.” I handed the dog to the little girl, and the man says “Merry Christmas. Thanks again.” and hands me an envelope. I tried to refuse, but he insisted. I figured it was a gift card to a coffee shop or something. Put it in my pocket, and went home to get ready for Christmas Eve. As soon as I got home, I put the envelope on a table by the front door, and didn’t give it another thought.
Christmas Eve Dinner was great. I get up early to put the bird in the oven for Christmas Day…and “NASA, we have a problem”. My oven is dead. It’s one of those fancy over-and-under two-oven deals. Neither one is working. After some detailed trouble-shooting with my Electrical Engineer Brother-in-law, my oven was pronounced dead. I had to cook the whole dinner on the stovetop, barbecue grill, and a toaster-oven. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
So its the day after Christmas, and I have to set about replacing my oven, with a new over-and-under. I was blown away by the prices I found on the interwebs at the big-box stores. Cheapest was $2500, which would just about wipe out our “emergency fund”. “Lord…why? I’m trying to be a good Steward. A little help would be appreciated”. Oh well. Got to have an oven.
About that time, my wife, Mother-in-Law, and Sister-in-law are headed out to hit some clearance sales. I asked them to do me a favor and stop by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and check if they had a replacement oven. Both my wife and her Mom said “We’ve checked before. They never have an oven like that.” I say “I prayed. Please check.” “OK” they say.
10 minutes later, my phone rings. My mother-in-law says “Your prayers are answered. They have an over-and-under that looks like it will fit, and it comes with an under-cabinet microwave. Looks to be in great shape. $250.00”. $250 beats $2500 any day. Praise The Lord! “Tell them I’ll be there in 10 minutes with my pick-up.”
I went to the store, bought the oven & microwave, loaded it in my truck, got it home, and with the help of my Electrical Engineer Brother-in-law, installed everything in my kitchen, and hauled the dead one away to the dump. Used it to heat up leftovers, fed everyone. Life was good again.
I know what you are thinking: What does this have to do with the dog? Well, you read this far, so, I’m fixing to tell you:
I am sitting at the table, happy that I got a good deal on the oven. My wife notices the envelope and asks what it is. I say “oh, the Pomeranian’s owner gave that to me”. She says, “can I open it?” I say “sure”. She’s reading the Thank You note, and then she’s really silent. She asks, “How much did we pay for the oven?” “$250, including the microwave…man, I’m still blown away how God answered my prayer.” “$250?” “Yeah, $250…why?”
She puts the card and it’s contents down in front of me…$250. I was stunned. Then it hit me:
The Lord knew my oven would give up the ghost, and would need a replacement. He knew I could barely afford it, so He provided one that I could afford, and told me where to find it. I listened, and it was there. Then He provided the exact amount needed to purchase it…and He used a Tea Cup Pomeranian to make it all happen. I’m sure if I wasn’t so blown away by it all, I would have heard God having a great chuckle.
It’s all true. 100%. No embellishment whatsoever…and here is what I’ve taken from this, and use it in my ministry all the time:
