On The Road

 

 

     Going home! Going home! Going home! We were bubbling over with joy at the prospect. It had been a long year in what seemed like a different world. We had hardly gotten used to the extreme cold, the snow that piled high on the telephone lines, the dangers of the tundra, and the habitat of the Eskimo and their Husky dogs. 

     Thousands had prayed for the war to end and now God had answered those prayers. How thankful we were that all of this horrible war would now stop and our lives could get back to normal.

     Life here, could be rather monotonous, and we looked for things to do that would brighten the long dark days and make the best of the almost total daylight. What could be better then to get a car and make it ready for the long trip home. How could we do this, though, when the government had turned all of the steel into tanks and airplanes. Then, there it was, almost a perfect answer to our prayers. An officer from the base had turned over his almost new car out on the icy highway.   It was for sale even though the side and top were all bashed in and the fabric inside was all hanging loose. The engine seemed all right and the frame was not damaged. The price tag said $700. We didn’t have very much money, but we decided that with a little fixing up it would be as good as new. There were long hours of hearing the “bang, bang, bang,” of the hammer and the groaning from the sore arms as they sanded out the endless dints and bumps. Then, it was painted and Viola, it looked good! Now, there was another problem. The spare tire had been used and because the war had taken all of the rubber, it would probably be impossible to find another tire. We needed it for the long miles of gravel and dirt road ahead. Our expression must have shown an obvious concern for surely there would not be a tire for purchase no matter at what price. Yes, it was impossible! Oh! but there could be a solution. We could pray, for hadn’t the Lord found us a car?

     Days went by. Every available possibility was check out but no tire was found. Sabbath came and we took our usual walk across the Chenna River bridge to where there was a small Seventh-day Adventist Church. We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw a new little jeep trailer sitting in the yard across the street. It had a sale sign on it and it appeared to have two new tires. It was a temptation, but NO, we could not think of doing business on the Sabbath, even though our hearts sank at the thought that it could be sold before the Sabbath was over. We prayed that the Lord would keep it for us. We do not know how He accomplished it, but He did! That was the beginning of our long lonely trip down the Alkan Highway from Fairbanks, Alaska to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

     Now it is apparent that the Lord hears our prayer and he answers them if we love and obey Him. It must be in His own time and in His own way. Sometimes it is just the way we wanted, and sometimes it is even better. Sometimes we have to patiently wait and sometimes we think we are disappointed, but then we can remember that He knows what is best for us. So, He answers not always according to our expectation, but always for our good. His final answer will be when he takes us on the road to His Heavenly Home because we love Him and keep His commandments.

Clairece Loeffler