I was in a fender-bender a few weeks ago at a gas station. I was
driving our big white farm truck and I was of course in a hurry to go
eat lunch with a friend and as I was leaving the pump the woman beside
me as leaving her pump too and my bumper and her door ended up in the
same place at the same time. I of course exited the truck all shakey
and upset. I felt horrible and apologized and then promptly called the
police to make a report. We pulled our vehicles over into parking
spaces and then started the long wait for the police.
We made small talk and I found out that her name was Shirley, she was a
proud grandmother and she cared for elderly people in their homes. I
remarked that she must have a calling on her life from God to do a job
like that and she smiled with her whole entire face and said that she
did. Looking back I think that smile might have caused the flood gates
of the Holy Spirit to burst because after I shared a little bit about
what I do and the upcoming World Race she began to speak blessing over
me and tell me that God was going to do great things with me while I
was gone and He intended to give me gifts that I would be able to use
for the rest of my life, not just on the race. She told me that coming
home was going to be hard and I wouldn’t know how to fit anymore but
that God was going to be faithful and show me how to operate in my life
in a new way. He was going to take care of all of it, she said. So
there we stood, arm in arm, I was crying, she was laughing and several
people who worked at the gas station were baffled. One man came outside
and said “Do you two know eachother?” When we replied that we had just
met he seemed confused. “I’ve seen people get in fist fights over
smaller accidents than this, and here you are hugging?” Well that just
made us both laugh. We continued to share stories of the Lord and His
fame in our lives and about an hour and a half later when the police
finally arrived and filled out our reports, Shirley said “Erin, there
are always people that God intends us to run into.” I couldn’t help but
laugh even harder because she had unknowingly made an amazing pun.
Two days later I got a phone call from Shirley. That went something like this:
“Hey, Erin I called the number of that body shop that you gave me.”
“Um…Shirley, I didn’t give you the number to any body shop.”
“Yes you did. It was right before your cell phone number on that paper.”
“No, I wrote down my home phone number before my cell phone number.”
“Well God sure is good then because I called it and
I got a body shop. I took my car down there and this nice man gave me a
very reasonable estimate. And wouldn’t you know it, he has a Jesus fish
on his sign and he loves the Lord. We talked about how good God is and
I feel very good about having him work on my car.”
“I have no idea how that happened but ok!”
Later that week when I met her at the body shop, I saw that the number
to the body shop is one digit off from my home phone number and Shirley
must have called that number by mistake. But that does not diminish
God’s faithfulness.
So God is big. I have a new close friend who calls me periodically when
she wants to encourage me or hears from the Lord a word for me. I
talked to her today in fact.
I was in a fender-bender but I know it was no accident.
