When You Feel All Alone by John Naberhaus

Saturday afternoon, in a small town like Washington, North Carolina, few auto repair places are open. Most close shop early in the afternoon. For them it has been a long work week. The only places open are the malls, drug stores, eating places, Lowe's, and the grocery stores. Saturday evenings, people around here go out to shop, grab a bite to eat, or head for some entertainment in a nearby city.

My wife, Jill, and I live about four miles from town and sometimes on Saturday we'll go into town to shop. I'm in a powered wheelchair and have been for fourteen years. My wife drives me around in a special van customized for my power chair.

One Saturday afternoon we went to the drug store, looked around, and bought a few things. After we  got back into the van, my wife put the key in the ignition switch, but the key would not turn. After fifteen minutes trying, we called for a tow truck to get us home. That's when they hit us with the bad news. They could tow the van home but not with me in it! There was no room in the truck.

We didn't know anyone close by. We called some people we knew for help, but no one was home. Jill's son Kent, a mechanic, lived twenty five miles away and was likely at his other job. If we couldn't reach him, I would have to drive my wheelchair all the way home and hope it would make it.

I thought about that. The chair has a five mile range on level ground and with a fully charged battery. But the way home was not level. My chair was not fully charged. And the road I'd have to travel down was a busy highway with cars racing by.

Though Jill was with me, I felt all alone. Even helpless. I couldn't fix the van. And while the tow truck could get the van and Jill home, I would have to go it alone down that dangerous highway. Was God giving us another test to go through? Maybe, I didn't know. Was it a test of trust? Sure it was. One thing was certain...it was time to pray for help.

So we did and then called Kent. He was home! Not only that, he had a trailer he could put the van on with me in it. Took him a while to get there, but before loading the van, he took the ignition switch out, worked on it a bit, and put it back in. The van started! I wouldn't have to ride on trailer.

We headed home with Kent following us and made it without any trouble. Funny thing though. Once there we tried the switch. It wouldn't start. The next day, Kent returned with another switch and we haven't had any problem since. Praise the Lord!!!

Why am I telling this story? It's a story about trust. It's a story about how God will get you through something if you trust Him enough. It's a story about how God places the right people in the right places at the right time. It's a story about feeling absolutely alone, but knowing you're not.

My favorite scripture is Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. When you have limitations in your mobility, you learn to trust the Creator to supply your needs to see you through.

Do I always trust Him? Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes my trust is weak. But I know this to be true: When my trust is great enough, I know He will see me through.