We enjoyed dinner and visiting afterwards with Bonnie. She knew a little about our situation after speaking with Glen. She invited us to come and stay at her home Tuesday night. Bonnie had two daughters, and only one daughter was staying with her, so she had an extra bedroom upstairs. She suggested we pull the trailer over to her house, park it in the back yard, and hook up the electricity. She felt her husband would approve, but wanted to check with him just in case and get the okay.
She convinced us to take her up on the offer. For us it was still so hard, but we could see it was God’s obvious leading. We had been used to helping others for so long, and now we were the ones in need. She was so gracious and kind, a finer lady no one will ever meet. Even though we were quite frazzled and truly not wanting to burden another family, God’s timing was perfect, and His ways awesome to behold. God worked with us every step of the way as He had promised, though I was determined to keep asking Him why we were being put through such an ordeal. His answer to this question would eventually come through my wife, as Janie shared how she received the title for this book.
Jim gave Bonnie the okay for us to move in even though he was not yet back from one of his over-the-road trips. We were at Bonnie’s for a couple of days before we attempted to pull the trailer over to her house. Now, I was relatively new at pulling, and just as I was attempting to make my third try at backing the trailer into a specific place at Jim and Bonnie’s, when a gigantic 18-wheeler rig pulled into the back yard—it was Jim. He motioned to me asking if I wanted him to properly fit the trailer into the tight spot, and with relief, I nodded in approval. I certainly did not want to be responsible for running over a clothesline or a ground faucet. Jim, with great precision, casually backed my “8-wheeler rig” into its place. We met, shook hands, and that was the beginning of a friendship I will forever cherish.
God’s timing is perfect; “His ways are past finding out.”1 Our dinner with Bonnie was just one of the many occurrences that proved to us that the LORD was directing our adventure with perfect timing so that His will would be accomplished in our journey. Each situation we encountered had to be looked upon in faith, with careful attention and follow-through. This is a “Key” to the Spirit filled walk with God; if we are not willing to wait until the last minute of a difficult situation, we will rarely get to witness the miracles God has in store for us. We have to “Walk-It-Out,” “lean not to our own understanding, in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct our path.”2 Scriptures also say, “My times are in [God’s] hands.”3 All of our times are in His hands; we are in His hands, and there is no safer place to be!
These are not just cute little Bible sayings. They are the raw realities of following the LORD in a life led by His Holy Spirit. Consider the timing! Mr. Cromwell kept moving the date of departure closer; we attended a prayer meeting and met Bonnie; she invited us to dinner the following Monday night not knowing anything of our predicament, and Monday night was the last night for our hotel room. We did not have the leading or resources to embark in any other direction. The LORD knew what He would do, but had kept it hidden from us until the very last minute.