Kathy RedwingRecently Kathy Redwing, Area President of Oregon Mid-Columbia, WA South, was on a weekend trip. The trip turned out much differently than she and her husband expected. Read on to find out how God watched over them each step of the way.
We can make our plans, but the Lord directs our steps. - Proverbs 16:9
I have known this scripture for a very long time. I have been comforted by this scripture, occasionally amused by it and a few times, frustrated by it. However, I cannot remember a recent time where I was as fully immersed in it as I was on a recent, rainy Friday morning.
My husband Dean and I were on our way from Portland, Oregon to Marysville, Washington to spend the weekend with some extended family members. We had also planned to stop by the Aglow office and say hello as well as pick up some supplies for our upcoming retreat.
We were about 2 hours north of Portland, around Olympia, when all the sudden the car died in the middle of the freeway! Fortunately, the Lord cleared the traffic in the 2 lanes of traffic to our right, so Dean was able to safely get our car over to the shoulder of the freeway. God is so faithful!
We sat there on the shoulder for a few minutes with the rain pelting our car and the 18-wheelers rushing past us, sometimes a little too close. We began to pray over our situation, thanking the Lord for safely moving us off the freeway; asking the Lord to please restart the car. Dean even went out and laid hands on the engine and we waited. Through all of this we were in such a state of peace and rest that only the Lord can bring.
I called AAA and they said it would be at least an hour before they could get to us. I sent out texts to my Prayer Warrior friends, most of them in Aglow, asking for prayer coverage. As we waited, I read to Dean from the Book of Leviticus, where my Bible reading plan currently is. We were both grateful we did not have to follow all those laws anymore. So many rules!
In the waiting, there was such peace. We started discussing God’s plan for us that day. We pondered if He removed us from the freeway to save us from an accident up ahead, or maybe we were needed back home in Portland for some reason. We knew this incident with the car was not an attack of the enemy but a move of God.
We had prayed for a wonderful person from AAA to come help us, and along came Bob. We were not disappointed. Bob was so kind and friendly. He hitched up our car and drove us into Olympia to see if we could find a repair shop. By now it was mid Friday afternoon, and no one could take us. We ultimately made the decision to have the car towed back to Portland. Bob told us he had another job to get done and then he would tow us back to Portland. He was going to drop us off at the tow yard office for an hour to wait for him.
I had talked Bob into stopping at Subway on our way to the tow yard, so we had our lunch with us. It was at the tow yard’s tiny office where our divine appointment materialized. I’ll call her Sue. Sue is the person who manages the tow yard. Sue was cordial when we came in the office… which is kind of funny because she told us later, she was really mad at Bob for telling us we could hang out there.
Sue said she was sorry our car had broken down. I replied, “God had another plan.” At that point Sue’s eyes lit up and she said, “Thank you, thank you for saying that! You have no idea! Thank you!” One little 4-word sentence changed everything. The floodgates were open, waiting for Jesus to come in.
Sue opened up to me about her past life, her current situation, all that she had been through all the while stating, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” I knew why. Sue had just come back to the Lord after straying away from Him for a period of time over some horrible things that had happened in her family, in particular to her granddaughter.
I asked if I could pray for her and she excitedly said, “Yes!” So, I spent the entire afternoon praying over her and giving her testimony of God’s faithfulness, with Dean praying in the Spirit in the background. The more she and I talked, the more I got to pray over her and continue to declare His faithfulness!
I also told her all about Aglow and gave her the website info and my Aglow business card. As I was finally leaving around 5pm, she grabbed me and while crying, thanked me for coming that day. She too knew by then; it had been a divine appointment. I think I was even more blessed than she was! I had such deep-down joy when I left! God went before us and prepared her heart to receive from the Holy Spirit that day. I am so grateful that the Lord trusted me to minister to her. Just as He was ministering His kindness to Dean and me through Bob and Sue.
I am so thankful for God’s plan that day! God reminded me how little it really takes to make an impact on people for Jesus. We just need to share our stories of His faithfulness. He also reminded me how much I love ministering one on one with people. I can’t wait for the next “God’s Plan” day.
If you have a God testimony, we would love to hear about it to share with others. Tell us your story