North Star
Beloved Grand Eagle
This is off topic from TMS but in a way….not. Because it's dealing with a situation that started unfolding in our home at 1:00am last night.
My two sons, 19 and 16, were heading back from a trip to OH when their car started making ominous sounds. They hunkered in in a parking lot for a few hours sleep before venturing out again (against my hubby's advice.) The car blew a rod. Right though the engine. This was at 5am.
Here's the rest of the tale that I posted to friends and family on Facebook.
An update on the "Stranded in Sioux City Saga". Some fellow who came to help them…dropped them off at a homeless shelter. (?!) They were both freaked out. I was getting freaked out. The idea of my sons staying in a dorm with 50 strangers didn't sit well with me. And it also INFURIATED me that they took the food in their cooler. ("It's for Jesus," they said. WTH, I said.) So anyway, I posted the need on a Q&A Amish forum here on FB. Within minutes, a sweet lady commented and asked for my phone number. They live about an hour south of where the boys are at. I could tell she was feeling me out to make sure I wasn't some axe-wielding nut job running a scam. They'd need a place to stay for a few days, I said. "Would they be willing to help her husband tear down a barn?" she asked. I assured her that if there was one thing my boys love it's demolition work. She then asked if they need to bring a trailer to haul away the car. (That blew my mind. We had no idea what to do with it as it was sitting in a Home Depot parking lot. My son had AAA haul the car there instead of to the junk yard.
Don't ask why.) I asked if they could haul it to the salvage yard. Yup, she said. They go there frequently with the barn demolition.
She's excited about having the boys and said they have an extra bedroom. They will take good care of the boys, she said. She was also really excited that my older son is a Mennonite; they would like to become Mennonite too but are practicing Amish right now. We both agreed that perhaps there was a little Providence behind this. She added, "We feel like God put us here to help people."
So. These lovely people are going to host my two boys while we sort out their return arrangements. We'll either drive down to get them or a family from my son's church will be passing through on Sunday and could pick them up. They will be able to get the car unloaded and get the beast salvaged for a few bucks.
I gotta admit, my encouragement to the boys to "Treat this as an adventure" was sounding a little hollow by the time the afternoon was stretching on with no answers in sight.
I know most everyone who helps TMS'ers acknowledge the role of faith in healing but I gotta admit, I've been borderline atheist these past few years after many years of a strong church life. Too many unanswered prayers: I can do this on my own, thank you very much.
And then something like this unfolds and I realize maybe I can't do this on my own. And maybe just maybe…I sense a little wink from the Divine.
My two sons, 19 and 16, were heading back from a trip to OH when their car started making ominous sounds. They hunkered in in a parking lot for a few hours sleep before venturing out again (against my hubby's advice.) The car blew a rod. Right though the engine. This was at 5am.
Here's the rest of the tale that I posted to friends and family on Facebook.
An update on the "Stranded in Sioux City Saga". Some fellow who came to help them…dropped them off at a homeless shelter. (?!) They were both freaked out. I was getting freaked out. The idea of my sons staying in a dorm with 50 strangers didn't sit well with me. And it also INFURIATED me that they took the food in their cooler. ("It's for Jesus," they said. WTH, I said.) So anyway, I posted the need on a Q&A Amish forum here on FB. Within minutes, a sweet lady commented and asked for my phone number. They live about an hour south of where the boys are at. I could tell she was feeling me out to make sure I wasn't some axe-wielding nut job running a scam. They'd need a place to stay for a few days, I said. "Would they be willing to help her husband tear down a barn?" she asked. I assured her that if there was one thing my boys love it's demolition work. She then asked if they need to bring a trailer to haul away the car. (That blew my mind. We had no idea what to do with it as it was sitting in a Home Depot parking lot. My son had AAA haul the car there instead of to the junk yard.
Don't ask why.) I asked if they could haul it to the salvage yard. Yup, she said. They go there frequently with the barn demolition. She's excited about having the boys and said they have an extra bedroom. They will take good care of the boys, she said. She was also really excited that my older son is a Mennonite; they would like to become Mennonite too but are practicing Amish right now. We both agreed that perhaps there was a little Providence behind this. She added, "We feel like God put us here to help people."
So. These lovely people are going to host my two boys while we sort out their return arrangements. We'll either drive down to get them or a family from my son's church will be passing through on Sunday and could pick them up. They will be able to get the car unloaded and get the beast salvaged for a few bucks.
I gotta admit, my encouragement to the boys to "Treat this as an adventure" was sounding a little hollow by the time the afternoon was stretching on with no answers in sight.
I know most everyone who helps TMS'ers acknowledge the role of faith in healing but I gotta admit, I've been borderline atheist these past few years after many years of a strong church life. Too many unanswered prayers: I can do this on my own, thank you very much.
And then something like this unfolds and I realize maybe I can't do this on my own. And maybe just maybe…I sense a little wink from the Divine.
