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"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????
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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. |
