S.O.W.E.R.S.

I have known my mother, father, and brother all my life. I’m the youngest in my family, and I have an understanding of the touch of a family—the love, the strong touch each person has on the other’s life. THE FAMILY, our family, all of us—millions—are born of one father, God. How amazing life is when we relax and “let God.” The simple pleasure of a challenge is reaching the top and seeing the reward. The most beautiful views are seen from the top of the mountains.

 So, there we are on the evening of Day 2 of hitchhiking, Sarah Lozano and I—with no sleep, loaded on 5-Hour Energy and Red Bull. We just got dropped off at Mitchell Hill Road just outside of Gordon, Texas. At a small truck stop, we restocked our food, water, and Red Bull. Due to our lack of patience, we stopped waiting for trucks at truck stops and just started walking till someone picked us up, which was not the best idea since we didn’t have a map.  We had no idea how far it was to the next town. However, the farthest we have had to walk up to this point was around one mile before we usually get picked up.

     So, we continued with what was working—we kept walking. We walked 3 1\2 miles until we reached the next town. There was only one building called “The Smoke Shack”, which, from the outside, looked like an exotic bar, but the night was closing in fast, so, after a quick talk, we decided to keep walking to the next town. We had walked around four more miles till we saw our first sign: “15 miles to Ranger/ 82 miles to Abilene.” I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was far behind the hills and the stars were beginning to shine. We were both exhausted. Then Sarah started sporadically jumping and waving to the passing cars. As I searched the ground for a good place to camp, we sent a massive “S.I.T.” text from the phone to the family. We were not looking forward to sleeping under the sign, but the odds of getting picked up at night were slim . . .BUMMER!” Now we were cold, tired, and sore from our nearly 11- to 12-mile hike for the day with a 76-pound pack on.

We were getting ready for a long night when, all of a sudden, a police officer pulls over on the side of the road. “Righteous—our ride,” I thought.  We explained to him how we got here and why our licenses said I was from Florida and Sarah was from Texas. He politely offered to take us back to a hotel on Mitchell Hill Road. We quickly accepted, knowing there was a truck stop on Mitchell Hill Road. On our way to the hotel, we told him all the exciting things that had happened so far on our trip.  We further explained why we were hitchhiking. At the hotel, there was a small group of locals on the porch watching the sheriff drop off the two hitchhikers.  Then, with a “Be careful and good luck,” he was gone.

We now had a hard decision to make. We would either go to the small truck stop or get a room for $55… H-m-m-m.  Now, at the time I was ready to go to the truck stop, even though the pack was getting very heavy and Sarah was dozing off in the chair… H-m-m-m.  Then I said quietly to myself, “GOD, I’M EXHAUSTED AND THE RED BULLS ARE LOSING THEIR EFFECT.” As was thinking these things, an older man and “Pam”, the clerk at the counter, walked over and asked, “Do you have any money?”

“Yes, we have money. I’m just trying to decide whether to stay here or go to the truck stop for a ride,” I told them.

They said, “Okay” and walked away.  A minute later, Pam returned: “We can get you a room for $20, but there’s no a\c or TV.”  I replied the same as before with a thank-you. She smiled, mumbling, “Maybe we can get you a better room for cheaper.”

I replied the same as before with “I have enough money.”

She ran off to the office. I looked at Sarah and asked, “Do you think you can go on?”

She smiled, shook her head “no” and said, “I’m exhausted, but will keep going if you decide to.” Now I was having trouble keeping my eyes open as well, so we decided we would get a room and start fresh and rested the next morning. Just then, Pam poked her head out of the door and called me over—sneaky-like. At 9:40, I walked in to the office and saw Pam behind the counter rustling some papers. She said, “We have a room for you.”

I responded “We’ll take it. We are really tired.”

She smiled and said, “Yeah, ya’ll look dead out there.” I signed some papers as she checked my ID. She handed me a room key.

“How much do I owe you?” I asked.

She looked at me with a smile: “Nothing. We’re giving you a room.”

 “THANK GOD,” I say loudly, “and thank you, Pam.”

She looked at me and said, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

“Yeah he does,” I said awkwardly. Then I told her what we were doing and why we were hitchhiking. I offered to her help and asked if she wanted to pray. She grew more serious and said,

“Maybe. We’ll see in the morning.”

“OK, we’ll pray in the morning,” I said and went off to gather Sarah and get to our room where we found showers, a bed, and good rest.

In the morning, we got our things and met Pam on the porch with loads of smiles and thank you’s. We asked if she was ready to pray. She told us about her being diagnosed with possible cancer. Then, we started sharing with her Romans 10:9 and went through Galatians and Ephesians on how we are sons and daughters of God. We went into how it is not God’s intention that we suffer, but that we be whole by our believing, that when we believe God, He will make us whole. We also covered the power in the name of Jesus Christ.  Then, Sarah and I prayed in the name of Jesus Christ and claimed Pam’s wholeness. When we were through, I looked at Pam. Her eyes had filled with tears. She was choked up but said to us,

“I believe you two were sent here for me!” Before we left, we reminded her that she was God’s daughter.

So, there we were, three of us of the same family of God. We had never met before, but we believed God and we each took care of each other’s needs.  That’s the tender touch of the love of the family.

AMEN!

Jake Wilson can be reached at backlashjake@yahoo.com