It was the summer of 2006. I pulled my Explorer into the Walmart parking lot and found a decent parking space. As I breezily meandered towards the store I noticed that Ruth's car was parked in the space next to mine.
Ruth was a long time member of the church I attend, a retired widow with grown children whom God was calling to the mission field. She was selling her house and getting ready to store a few things before she left.
As I was checking out I saw Ruth finishing up at her own check out line. She had purchased several extra-large Rubbermaid storage boxes. We walked out together, chatting about how much longer she had until she left and where she planned to live when she returned.
We arrived at our vehicles and began to unload. As I prepared to close the back hatch I could see Ruth struggling to get the boxes into her back seat. There was absolutely no way those things were going in there. We tried the trunk. Same story.
That's when I realized that I was part of the plan. We loaded the boxes into the back of the Explorer and I followed her home. Free delivery!
I'm sure Ruth has completely forgotten that story by now, but I doubt I ever will. You see, she got "the stuff" but I got the blessing.
As someone who writes, I can appreciate a well-crafted storyline. God sure handed me a doozy that day.
I can only imagine that His thought process went something like this: "Ruth is going to buy storage boxes that won't fit in her car. I need someone with a bigger vehicle to take those for her. Aha! Debbie needs to go to Walmart this afternoon. Bingo! I'll arrange for them to park right next to each other, for them to finish checking out at the same exact time, and for Debbie to not be in a hurry. (smiles to Himself) That part alone will be a miracle! Debbie is ALWAYS running late and in a hurry to get somewhere. But I think I'll use her today. She can be part of my plan to show Ruth how much I love her and how I'm taking care of her."
There are so many things I love about this story. I love that even though I was early (for me), I was exactly right on time. I love that God used me (or at least my car) to help someone who needed it. But my favorite part is that before Ruth ever knew she had a need, God had filled it.
And many, many times since that day I have gone back to this story to remind myself that God does the same for me.
