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The Way of Trust – Chapter 2

By Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com

I am reminded of a time not long ago when I had to go get hay for our livestock and my wife went with me as we try to squeeze a little bit of alone-time anywhere we can.  Since this trip would only take about an hour, two at the most, she could come along and still be able to get all the Shabbat preparations done in plenty of time.

Well, you know the saying, “the best laid plans of men often go astray”.

That was the case on that day.

We were about 7 miles from our destination when the truck became very difficult to steer.  Then the noise started.  It was awful!

I got pulled over, and popped the hood of the truck up to see what I could see.

The power steering bracket had broken, so it was just lying there and was of no use.  Two belts were off and damaged but not broken.

I began praying and assessing the situation to see what could be done.

Previous History

Please allow me to digress at this point and bring you up to date on how I feel about working on vehicles. 

I hate it!

That is probably an understatement.  I have never enjoyed working on vehicles of any kind and two cycle ones least of all.  In high school I rebuilt my car completely from the ground up.

So you see it is not because I cannot do it, I just really do not like doing it.  Mostly, to be real honest about it, I do not have much patience in that area. 

So, when I have the wonderful opportunity to work on our vehicles, it is always a test for me.

Back to the Scene

As I began assessing the situation and praying, I also began to wonder what kind of appointment our heavenly Father had for me today.  Keeping that in mind helps me to stay focused on the right things and not lose my cool in doing something that I really do not like doing.

As I looked at the bracket, I could see that one ear had broken off and three bolts were gone.  Since the bracket was supposed to be held on at four points I figured if I could rummage around and find some bolts or nuts, that I could limp to a parts store.

So I began working and Batya, my wife, began to pray.  While she prayed, she also called the children at home and began directing them in Shabbat preparations, since this particular day was preparation day.

My first hurdle was tools.  After rummaging around in the truck I found a pair of vise grips in the cab, so I set to work.  I got the bolt out that was holding the ear of the broken bracket.  So there was one bolt.

I began rummaging around in the back to see what I could find.  I found a nut (actually “borrowed” from a come-along) that would give me a second point to fasten the bracket to.

We Are Not Alone

While I was working Batya also called the man where we were to go and pick up the hay.

It turned out that he was also broken down on the road about 7-8 miles north of us.  So we arranged that he would get going and then head for his house and meet us there.  If we were still broken down when he came by, he would stop.

I continued working.

I was almost done putting it back together when a man stopped and offered assistance.

It was a nice offer, but the problem was that he didn’t have any tools.

I thanked him for the kind offer and he left.

About ten minutes later another man stopped on a motorcycle.  He asked if we needed assistance.  I asked him if he had any tools.

He said sure, as he lived right across the road and he would go get his pickup and tools and be right back.

In just a short time we got it together and running.  The belts were not going to last very long.  We took off and as we took off one of the belts broke.

We stopped at a gas station and reassessed the situation.  It was about three miles to a parts store.  I thought with YHWH’s help we could make it.

As I pulled into the drive of the parts store, the other belt broke.

I praised our Heavenly Father for His mercy.

I went into the parts store and Batya went to get us lunch.

The man whom YHWH had selected to help me did an outstanding job.  He came out to the truck to see what we needed and worked very diligently at getting us the belts and bolts and a tool kit.

At one point the manager came up to me to see if I needed help as the man helping me was in the back.  As he walked up I told the manager that I was being helped by this young man and he was doing a wonderful job.  He was glad to hear that.  I then told the manager that this young man deserved a raise.

Lunch Time

I got what I needed and went back to the truck.  Batya had returned with our lunch.  We sat in the truck and ate.  We discussed what it was that YHWH had in mind for us today with the truck breaking down as it had done.

At present we didn’t know.

Back to Work

It took me about an hour to get the new belts on the truck.  It probably would have taken a mechanic 20-30 minutes.  Even though I know how to work on vehicles my strong heavy fingers do not fit into small places very well.  This is exactly what I needed to do in this case.

At one point I had to stop and take a deep breath as I had dropped a bolt into a place that was very difficult to retrieve it from. 

I did get it out, finally.  

Okay, I got it all together, finally, and ready to go.

So now we were on the road to our place of destination.

We got the hay and got home and it was after 4 PM. 

The children had gotten most of the Shabbat preparations done.  HalleluYah!

So What Was the Appointment?

See, that is just the thing about trusting in Him with all things; sometimes, we just will not know.

That is the case with this appointment.  I asked YHWH specifically what it was and He told me that it was not for me to know.

Okay, I can live with that.

Trust:  I hope that I passed my test of trusting in Him on that day.  I think that I did.  Amein.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com
www.onetorahforall.com

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