Following college I served a term as a missionary in Africa along with my new husband, Tim. Those were trying years, but we learned some valuable lessons that are still valuable to us more than 30 years later. Here is a story about one of the most memorable lessons.
I remember a trip that Tim and I had planned. We were setting out to visit some friends of ours who were also missionaries and it involved a long drive to get there. We had prepared everything in advance. We had our directions – there were no street signs in those areas, and certainly no GPS or Google Maps to get us where we were going! There were also no stores or places where we could stop for directions if we got lost.
We had everything we needed in the car before we left – food, things to take to our friends, and plenty of gas to make the trip there and back. Not long after we left home, less than an hour into our trip, our car started having problems running properly.
Tim fiddled with the engine to see if he could fix it, but it didn’t run any better. We prayed that God would help us to get the car running properly so we could make it to see our friends. We were really excited to see our friends, but when things didn’t get any better we knew that we would have to turn around and call off the trip. I was really disappointed and I didn’t understand why God had chosen not to answer our prayer.
When we returned home we had a mechanic at the missionary station who looked at the car for us. He was stunned by what he saw. He told us that the gas line was leaking directly onto the engine and that he had no idea how the engine kept from exploding. If we had continued the trip as we wanted, the engine certainly would have exploded and we probably would not have survived.
Needless to say, the news was stunning to us. Even though we were praying that we would be able to continue on with the trip, God knew that it was in our best interest to get the care off the road as soon as possible, and He protected us from harm.
Thank you, Father, that Your knowledge is so vast that it sees beyond the surface to the core of our deepest needs. Your wisdom never ceases to amaze me!
Following several years as a missionary, Dr. Ann Shorb began a career in counseling and is the founder of CCES in Hanover, PA. She provides a variety of services including Christian pre marital counseling and help with overcoming sexual addiction.
