Riley Erickson

Thankful for God & the Pebbles of Life

By:  Riley Erickson

This wasn't how I had planned for my Friday evening to go.

After a long week at work I was hoping to get on the road at a respectable time so I could make the two-hour trip to Blaine in the anticipation of having dinner with one of my good friends from high school.  

I was just about to grab my suitcase to begin packing my items for the weekend when I noticed my dad's work vehicle parked in the street. I paused in the dining room to peer out the front door, waiting for him to make his way up the drive, but the only motion I witnessed was the dry Maple and Ash leaves skittering across the pavement like a collection of wayward sailboats on a darkened sea. Curiosity turned to concern as I realized he was conversing on his cell phone. Something wasn't right. 

The look of perturbed distaste when he entered the house confirmed my suspicions as he proceeded to tell of the unfortunately timed situation. A storage unit that our family was using needed to be vacated of items within the day, which meant we needed to move a varied assortment of bulky and ponderous belongings.  

The one that worried us most was a collectible car that had not been run in three years. Figuring that the evening activities would be completely upended, I phoned my friend to relay my sudden change in plans, letting him know that I would likely arrive a couple hours after the designated time. 

Not a half-hour had passed before I was hunkered over the left fender of the car, staring at a fuel line that was visibly coated with soured gasoline and getting wetter with each rotation of the underutilized starter motor. The presence of a fire extinguisher merely feet away from the bumper of the car had never been so comforting. As the starter sent the crankshaft into motion one more time, the six cylinders came back to life. We let out a collective cheer as the exhaust reverberated off the interior walls and the engine settled into a lumpy idle. The moral victory was relatively short-lived, however. The hydraulic clutch was devoid of any feedback and palpably hopeless in moving the vehicle.  

After ten minutes of mercilessly pumping the left-most pedal through its entire range of motion and checking the fluid, I was completely out of ideas. Slumped over by the front wheel with my head cradled in my arms in frustration, a thought with untold weight fell upon me. This whole day, I had been concerned with my own plans, instead of asking God what His plans for me were. I immediately went into prayer and vividly recall repeating over and over in my mind, "God, I've done everything that I know to make this car move, but it's not working. You have the power to do so, if You would allow it."

The sound of the engine quickly revving brought my head up in time to realize the car was moving backwards. "We have clutch!" my dad yelled through the window. I could barely contain my excitement as the car rolled through the door and into the fading twilight. I shook my head in amazement as I thanked the LORD for the answered prayer.  

As I sat in the driver's seat of the work vehicle trailing my dad's car down a desolate and rutted gravel road that led back to the house, I gazed at the small pebbles that glinted as the taillights cascaded over. Millions of them could be passed over without eliciting even a pause, but each one was necessary if the road was to function properly. I thought about the miraculously working clutch. A moment later, I was nearly overwhelmed by realizing anew, the magnitude of God's love for His creation.  

October was a difficult month in a lot of ways for many people. The sister of a good friend of mine was tragically ejected from her family's vehicle while it rolled over as she was in the process of taking off her coat. She later died from medical complications. Another family from church is reeling from the blow of finding out that a wife and mother of two daughters is facing a battle against an aggressive and menacing form of cancer. The doctors have given her only months to live. Every day that we remain on this earth, we are reminded of the suffering and anguish that has befallen our world in complete opposition to the way it was originally created. But we can emphatically trust in the name of Jesus. 

The history of God and his chosen people is awash in victory over the most adverse of situations. David trusted God enough to willingly face a mighty and terrifying foe in Goliath. He was victorious. Daniel was cast into a den of ravenous lions after doing the appropriate thing. He was completely unharmed. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were cast into a fiery furnace when they would only give praise to THE LORD their God and not to a ruling authority. Not even a hair on their bodies was singed.

As we endure the clamoring of politicians for our attention, we can remain only hopeful about what type of change they can bring about. It remains physically impossible for them to care for each person on an individual level, regardless of what is promised. Graciously and mercifully, our God and creator is a completely different story. As the day of Thanksgiving quickly approaches and the importance of family renews itself, I am more aware than ever of what I am truly thankful for. God, in his infinite power which created the vast universe, still cares and loves each person individually in a way that we can never completely understand. He loves us so much that He'll even occasionally answer our selfish prayers.

I'm thankful that on the gravel road of history, I remain a pebble that has not been overlooked. I am thankful that no matter what happens, God is in control.  

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I can't help but remember the year I became a mother for the first time .

Our firstborn son, Christopher, was born on Thanksgivng Day just a couple of mintues before noon!!! It's hard to believe that was 31 years ago.   Time sure fly's, I thought I was still 29! Not?! Oh well, I always say "Old is the new young, just another year closer to Glory."

I remember that day as if it was yesterday. We'd been married 6 years, and we didn't think we'd ever have any kids. God's mercy and grace has been so deep and wide to Jim & I, it never ceases to humble me.

Oh how we prayed to be parents and so many prayed with us. We were so elated to call the Sogge side that day, as they were gathered around the Thanksgivng table in Sauk Centre.  I remember sitting in that hospital bed with Christopher in my arms, when I could hear his mom through the phone, lean over the Thanksgiving table to announce to the large family of 7 other siblings, "It's a boy!!!!"Their cheers were my reward for the 32 hours of long hard labor I had. And what made it even more of a miracle and a blessing, was the fact that he was born on his Great Grandma Rammer's birthday, who was also born on a Thanksgiving Day, and that only falls that way every 7 years.

Isn't God's timing amazing! If only we could trust His timing in things more often, when we think His calendar has stopped. The Bible says "One day is as a thousand years to the Lord."2 Peter 3:8-9. Maybe that's why I get impatient and He doesn't.

Now we have 3 grown children Christopher 31, Jeremy 29, and Rachel 28 when we thought we'd never have any.

Great Grandma and many others have gone on to Heaven and are greatly missed, but I am so thankful for the family and friends, both old and new, that God places in our paths.

Today,  I'm thankful for Best Life Ministries and the vision to help hurting people find Jesus Christ.

Yes time fly's but God is still good, still faithful and I count my blessings, I name them one by one!! When it all comes down to it family and friends are the only things we can take with us to heaven. May we all cherish them while we can. Happy Thanksgiving to all !!!

Mary sits with her Prayer Bible

Thankful for the Input, Prayer & Support of

Mary Jean Anderstrom

May 14, 1933- October 22, 2012