God Doesn’t Answer Prayers, or Does He?

Muddy Driveway Survival was on the line! Facing frigid, bitter cold winter weather, PA in 1978. There were three snowfalls, each greater than a foot high. Fresh from being blindsided by an unwanted divorce, I was feeling as if I was a fetus that had been kicked out into the cold foreign world. The children, who were six and eight years old, and I had just moved into an old trailer in the middle of woods two days before Christmas. It had a 100’ muddy driveway on very hilly terrain. Most of the pipes under the trailer were busted with 30+ holes. Busted pipes meant no running water. How do I handle all that on my gross income of $3,000/year plus bare minimum intermittent child support? How do I cover food, car, insurances, bills, clothing on less than $300/month? Which challenge is the biggest mountain I ask you? Wonder which problem God will tackle first? Yes, God was there, always there and always getting the credit to make it all best for His glory! “2nd Chronicles 20:20 Put your trust in the Lord and you will endure.” My income of $3,000 gross/year came from my teaching at a local Christian school. My my six-year-old daughter was in my class. As a normal child she, as did all three of us, got heavily ladened with the various trials. For our showers we would stop by the homes of friends after school. While there we filled gallon jugs to take home for our drinking water and collected snow in a cooler to use for washing dishes and our hands. When she again expressed her frustrations in lamenting, I would try to encourage her with responses such as, “Someday we’ll be laughing about all of this.” Eventually she challenged me in an early, yet still very wintry spring day, with “Mommy, can we laugh about it yet?” What else could I say? I, too, was strained to stay strong. Near the end of March, I laid across my bed looking at all the mud in our 100’ hilly driveway. I didn’t know what to do. Asking God for guidance, yes, just guidance not a monetary handout, just guidance was my thinking. Guidance means God, U and I dance together. Should I take some of my Earned Income Tax Return and buy some stone for the driveway or keep it for any future urgent need? Second day, again asking God for the same guidance. Patience, Carol, patience…. third day, again asking God for guidance. No one, not even my children knew of my prayers. Later that third day there was a loud banging on the kitchen door. Since my location was so remote and I wasn’t expecting anyone, caution reigned. Slowly I opened the door to find a short, burly man growling his frustration at me. He expounded, “Lady, my truck just broke down! And I can’t do anything about getting it fixed until I get rid of that load of stone that’s on it!” Yes, you read that correctly – a load of stone! He went on, “Would you mind if I get rid of this load of stone by my spreading it out on your driveway? I promise, lady, we’ll spread it out nice and smooth. If you will just please please let us spread the stone on your driveway.” I told him that he was an angel from God, a response at which he sneered. His look was not one of understanding. Angels come in all forms. Many are disguised. He and his buddies did indeed cover my whole driveway smoothly. They worked as carefully as if they were working on fulfilling a government contract. They worked as if they were under the threat of losing another big contract. In reality, they were. Whether or not they realized it, they were working for “God Incorporated.” That is the biggest, best and most possibly rewarding contract imaginable! He disappeared as readily as he appeared but the stones remained. For the rest of the nine years that we lived there that same stone paved our comings and goings smoothly and safely. God always to get the glory! Are we laughing about those years yet? Not really, but we are thankful for the many spiritual strengths we developed during those years. My children and grandchildren are now in healthy adult lives for which I am thankful! I reiterate – no one knew of my wanting stone. If someone with the means would have known of my desire for stone, they would have made arrangements with the local quarry to have the stone delivered. They would not have a truck break down on the road! What are the chances of such a coincidence? No, none, the word coincidence doesn’t exist in a Christian vocabulary. The word is miracle, God’s divine intervention via an audacious encounter! Praise the Lord!