|
-----------------------------------
"Do not forget to entertain
strangers, for by doing so some people have
entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:13
(NIV)
I knew it was weathered and worn,
that mighty oak in my back yard. But lack of finances
as a single mother kept me from cutting it down. I was
on a wing and a prayer with this one.
The wind was blowing extremely
hard when I went to bed that night. I was awakened by
the thunder a few times. Each time I awoke, I prayed
for protection over the two bedrooms that were close
to this tree.
When I got up the next morning, I
could see why God had placed it on my heart to pray .
. . That old tree had cracked and broken in two.
Half of the tree was lying in my yard with its debris
all over and the other half was strewn on top of my
neighbor's garage. As I looked at the mighty oak, the
mess in my yard, and the other half on my neighbor's
garage, I wasn't really sure what I was going to do.
For me it was another frustration
of being a single mother and homeowner who needed help
around my house badly. But I felt the need to hold on
to my home; I didn't want to shift my children into
apartment living. Now this tree problem was more than
I could handle.
I started my quest to have this
mess removed. I pleaded with each call . . . "A large
storm blew in last night and broke my tree in half. My
urgency is that half of it is lying on the roof of my
neighbor's garage, and I don't think they appreciative
it."
I quickly found my quests for
success waning when I heard the price for this tree's
removal. Despite my plea for mercy, quotes were
starting at . . . $350.00, and this did not include
the removal of the tree once it was cut up in pieces.
That could cost another $200.00. " Lord, where would
I come up with this money? " I sighed.
After the first day I just
continued to place it in God's hands. My neighbors had
not yet pressed me in any way for the removal of the
branches. For this I was grateful. So, I just kept
going to prayer to receive enlightenment, on how to
solve this problem.
On about the third or fourth day,
after work, a friend came by and asked if I would like
to go out for some dessert . . . her treat! She knew
how troubling this tree episode had been, and wanted
to take my mind off of it for a little while. We had a
great time eating cake and laughing. As she pulled up
in front of my house to drop me off, we sat in the car
for a few more minutes to laugh and joke. Humor felt
good, and Jeannie was always full of it.
While we were still sitting in
the car, we saw a man on a bicycle come around the
corner. He turn into my driveway, right past us, and
approached my front porch. I quickly got out of the
car to see what he wanted.
To my relief he appeared to be an
angel in disguise, when he reported to me . . . "I
see you have a tree that needs to be cut down and
removed." He continued on, "I could remove that tree
for sixty-five
dollars."
I was stunned at the offer. But I
had to reply, "Sir, I do not have sixty- five dollars,
maybe you could return on Friday?"
"No problem," he said. He would
come tomorrow and remove the tree, along with all of
it's remains and come back on Friday for his pay.
"Where did this good Samaritan
come from?" I wondered.
Then I knew ??“ It was in answer to
my prayer
When I tried to make sense how to
remove my tree, I could come up with no way out. But
trusting in God ??“ He found the way out for me. Was
this an angel I was entertaining in my midst?
I am no longer single and my
children are all grown. I came across this memory in
the many prayers answered in my journal. I have the
dates all jotted down. To this day, I still can't help
but wonder, who really removed this tree? Was it . .
. "An angel, or a good Samaritan????
--- --- --- --- ---
---
Annettee Budzban lives with her
husband, Jeff in Wildwood, IL. She writes a weekly
religion column for "The Daily Herald" in Lake Co. IL.
She has been published on e-zines and in magzines. Her
e-mail address is ahrtwrites2u@aol.com. |
