Dodge Shadow: 'Day and Hour'

I was telling a friend that the Lord knew all that regarding the selling of my 1994 Dodge Shadow. I posted it on the Internet.

As soon as I let the whole wide world know that I had a used car for sale, I reminded myself that the Almighty already knew my surrendered life, including the Shadow. Nothing excluded. So it was all up to the divine move.

Several emailed me about the car. Looked at the car. They did not buy the car.

Then a phone call came. It was Mark. He said he wanted to look at the car, was quite interested by my description and probably would buy it.

He gave me his phone number, saying it was the phone connection for a group home. I figured he was on staff there.

We talked a second time on the phone. Then I asked him for his personal phone number in case I needed to contact him other than at his work. He said, "But that IS my number. I live here."

"Oh, how old are you?" I asked.

"Seventeen."

Then it was obvious that Mark did not work there; he was a troubled youth from wherever who was housed there temporarily till he got his act together.

The sale was coming together which excited me all the more. My life has been spent in Christian ministry. These situations just don??™t happen. They are not chance. They are not fate.

They are God at work through time and space, sometimes more time than my efficient self would like. Sometimes more space separation than I would prefer. Nevertheless, what I want does not matter in the surrendered life.

"I can have half the money for you now. I work as a busboy at a restaurant. Then in a week or so I can hopefully have another hundred."

"That??™ll work. No problem. I trust you."

The group home was just alongside the Maine Youth Center, now having its name changed to a fancy something but the old name is what I remember over time. In other words, this adolescent had spent time in youth jail and now was in the next phase of group home.

We made arrangements for him to see the car, his mother driving him to our residence. But I phoned to make certain of the detail when learning that his mom was at the emergency room with his sister. Calamity. Another delay.

"Oh, I??™m so sorry for whatever is going on. Listen, Mark, I??™m a minister. I don??™t think I told you that before. Anyhow, I am praying for your family and their problems. And I am praying for you, also very glad that you are buying my car."

The weekend came. We were to meet at my home for him to hand me the down payment and his mother to drive the car off with transit plates. He, after all, did not have his driving permit yet. However, dream comes before driving permit. No problem.

Another delay. Another rescheduling due to his mom??™s rescheduling.

"Listen. I will drive over to the group home. You can look at the car and decide if you want it. We will go to your bank and you can draw out the down payment, hand it to me, fill out the bill of sale, and it will be yours, just parked in my front yard till you can see through the final detail."

Fine.

So I drove to the group home that afternoon. He was smiling from ear to ear as I pulled into the main entrance.

"There??™s only one problem," he greeted me. "I did not know that I cannot leave the group home on Sundays. That means I can??™t go to the bank to get the money."

My heart sank. But I knew God knew the day, the hour and the person who would purchase the Dodge Shadow.

"However, one of the staff has loaned me five hundred dollars so that I can sign the bill of sale!"

With that, we proceeded inside the group home. Further, I had in my hand a Bible??”brand new.

"I want you to have this and my prayers are going along with the Bible. Please read it daily. Please pray to Jesus daily. Please learn more about God through this Book. It will change your life and give you hope for your future."

Mark promised me he would do just that. Then he paused, "I just want you to know how much I appreciate what you have done for me. No one has ever done this much to help me."

We prayed.

As I walked out of the room, bidding his counselor farewell, Mark stepped in front of me. Then he reached into his pocket to pull out a roll of bills wrapped in a large rubber band. It was the down payment for the car. His smile once again spread from ear to ear.

You see, I knew from the start that the Lord knew his timing and his man??”though only a young one at that. The Lord knew especially his man??”Mark.

And I am privileged to know him, too.

Source: [url=http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/27965.html]The Conservative Voice[/url]