Power of Giving

(This is a true story.  It happened to me.)

The year is 2003.  And about two and half years prior, a client of mine, a retired pastor, would drop by the shop every morning, for a visit and a chat.  Everyday he would bring me the newspaper and leave it, when he left.  This went on for over a year.  Being a pastor, talking, of course, was not a problem!  I got to hear some pretty interesting stories.  Most of them very inspiring.

Example.  At that time, he told me, he would get up every morning at 4am and deliver papers.  During the day he would walk around town and along the highways, and pick up bottles.  From the money he raised from the paper route, and the bottles, he would sponsor homeless children, through World Vision.  At that time he had eight kids, and his goal was ten.  I got to thinking, “What am I doing?”  Here’s a man in his seventies, getting up at four in the morning delivering papers and picking bottles, and sponsoring children overseas, from that money,... there must be something I can do.  Well, there was, but it took awhile!

One day, during one of our visits, he asked me if  I’d be interested in buying his car.  It was a 1989 Caprice Classic.  A great car in it’s day!  And still in excellent shape.

I said, “I’d love to, but at the time, I really can’t afford it.”

He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll give you a deal, you can’t refuse.”

He wanted $1500.00 for the car, and said I could pay it out over the next fifteen months, at $100.00 per month.  He was right, I couldn’t refuse.  I took him up on his offer.  And yes, that did make life a lot easier for us, at the time.  I drove that car everyday, for the next two years... trouble free! 

At this time, a very good personal friend of ours,  bought a new pickup.  During conversation one day, I asked him what he was going to do with his old one, a ‘92 Chevy half ton, in excellent shape I might add.  He said he was going to, give it away!  Unbeknown to me at the time, it was us, he was  planning on giving it to.  Sure enough, about two days later, he drove in our driveway, delivering our truck.  To this day, and at the time of this writing, it’s been over five years.  I’m still driving that truck, trouble free!  I still can’t believe, that it actually happened.  But it did!

It’s amazing sometimes how God, in His progression of events, can make things happen, and we are not even aware of it at the time.  It gets even better!

So now I’m thinking, “If someone just gave me a Truck, than I have a Car to give away.  Right?  Wrong!

About two weeks later at a Sunday night service, at our church, Ryan Sutten was speaking, (a missionary in Ethiopia).  It was made clear to me in that service that I was not to give that car away, but sell it and give the money to his ministry in Ethiopia.  That’s exactly what I did.  I went back to work Tuesday morning, went to my computer and made a ‘For Sale’ sign, to put up in the shop.  As it was printing, I looked up, and to my amazement, the pastor and his wife, who sold me the car two years earlier, who , by the way, moved to Red Deer, Alberta, that same week, and I had not seen them since, was at this very moment, walking in the door.  Ok.  Now I’m a little rattled.  What does this mean?  He’s the very same person, who sold me the car over two years ago.  I haven’t seen them since.  And now, the very day I plan to sell the car, they walk back into my shop.

But I did know what it meant.  They also had to hear this story.  And the blessing they have been to me.  The blessing that his car was to us.  And now, even a blessing to someone in Africa, because of the deal that he gave me, two years before. 

Nothing we really have is ours.  God can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants, with whatever we have.

Are we, here at home a blessed people?  Yes we are.  Can we bless other people?  Yes we can.  And we often do, without actually realizing it.

I sold that car for one thousand dollars!  And the money was sent the Ryan Sutten Ministry... and because my pastor friend here at home, out of Christian love, and the goodness of his heart, gave me the deal that he gave me, and the same for our friends who gave me their old pickup, people in Ethiopia will be blessed.

Note:  One Thousand Dollars, Canadian, will support a pastor and his family in Ethiopia for one whole year!

GOD IS GOOD!!