| One Another Ministry Encouragement Story |
A Lesson Not Soon Forgotten A few weeks ago now a couple came in to see me. It seems that an appliance they bought had been damaged on my dock. The glass in the door had been smashed. The damage had been accidental. The couple was very understanding, but concerned if the appliance had sustained additional damage. It hadn't. A replacement door had been ordered, but wouldn't arrive before mid-December. I thought to myself, "Why not just replace it with another door off the same model from one we have"? We found one, but couldn't get it on. The couple had to get going so I stayed, with another couple of guys, and fought with it for another hour or so before getting it fixed. I called them. They were ecstatic! I got a heartfelt thank you from them. I left at the end of the day pleased. This is very important. The door was held in position with a couple of "clips". For whatever reason an extra set went with the appliance. The following week went extremely bad. Things went missing (stolen?) from the dock. Complaints were rampant. Bad, rude, ignorant customers were the norm. Late that week after another piece of merchandise disappeared I was at the end of my rope. The previous 6 months hadn't been anywhere near this bad. I had a new manager and I think he was wondering what I was doing down there. My immediate supervisor comes to me and says, "This was dropped off for you last night." and hands me an envelope. Inside I found a card, twenty dollars and two "clips". Remember the clips? The couple I had helped the week before were so impressed with what I had done gave me a $20 tip!! They also gave me the extra clips I had sent them. I'll tell you something. I had always heard,"God will give you what you need when you need it and God knows what you need before you do". That week, up to that point, had gone horribly awry and my hopes of impressing the new boss were quickly disappearing. When I saw those clips I KNEW God had a hand in this. He made sure those clips went out. He made sure they made it back. HE MADE SURE I KNEW HE HAD DONE IT ALL. He knew I'd need it later. I carried those clips in my hand the whole day. They stayed in my pocket for another 3 after that. I still have them. They're rusty, dirty filthy things and I'd be afraid to lose them. A little lesson in faith for me. Just because things go wrong (and horribly so sometimes) doesn't mean we have to lose our faith. For the return of two used, dirty clips I found out God can use the most unlikely for the most extraordinary. I'll never forget that lesson. Jonathan Regina |
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