~Feature Story Page ~ A Gentle Answer Ministries Online Magazine~
"Life Ain't Always Breezy"
by Kathy Lonsinger
An unexplained mystery guest ending up in our front yard on a very breezy summer day. Its name sewn on the back was “Breezy”.
Breezy, is a wheelchair. Baffled at where the possible owner may be, and slightly worried the Oklahoma winds had carried said owner away, we called the police to come get the chair and hopefully reunite it with its owner.
It was just one of the weird things that seem to happen around our house routinely. While we enjoy the adventures, usually, this one led us to pray.
We asked that God would keep the owner safe and provide a way to either lead them to find the chair or somehow get a replacement soon.
Not much thought went on about the chair after a couple of weeks and frankly, as a lot of us tend to do, we get busy and forget to be fervent in our prayers.
Well I wanted to tell you how the Lord allowed this event to come back into our lives and bless my husband and me with… “The rest of the story” (my respects to Paul Harvey):
It was a typical Monday morning. And by typical, I mean, “Mom I can’t find my other shoe” “Mom the dog ran down the street and won’t come back when I call him” “I’m out of lunch money” “my jeans are in the washer and the water is still full to the top and didn’t drain”!
Okay…so “typical Monday” might need some improvement at my house.
Didn't the washing machine get the memo that Richard and I had an appointment in Kansas City tomorrow morning and needed to leave this afternoon to get to the hotel and go over the meeting schedule? Didn't the children remember they are to lay the clothes out the night before and be well prepared and calm in the mornings before school? Didn't the makers of my 5 year old washing machine get the memo that the first washing machine I owned lasted for 17 years and I expected no less from this one? Didn't Donna Reed leave me her pearl necklace and apron and a manual showing me exactly how to manage a family, household and ministry? Ummm...NOPE!
I rushed the kids to school, without breakfast (I know-sign me up for mother of the year) and threw the wet load of clothes into the car and headed to the local laundry mat.
Did I mention the grumbling? No not the hungry children grumbling…ME! I was NOT moved at this turn of events to sing “Trust and Obey” or quote “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” I was actually quite ticked off!
Again, didn't the Universe revolve around my schedule?
I pulled into the parking lot of the laundry mat and scanning quickly for a parking spot…my eye caught sight of a pickup truck with the tailgate down and a ramp with a wheelchair that had the name “Breezy” sewn on the back of the chair.
Could it be? Was this our “Breezy”?
I entered the laundry mat and began looking at the other customers wondering if someone here belonged with that chair.
On the last row… there was a man, missing one leg, in an automated chair.
He was watching a quiet, graceful woman fold towels.
A little nervous, I approached them and asked if the chair in the parking lot belonged to him. He confirmed that it was his. So I then asked if by chance he had lost that chair in town several months ago.
He hesitated and asked, “How did you know that?” My heart seemed to skip a beat and I had chills up and down my arms. I told him our story of finding the chair and calling the police. He explained that the combination of a left turn gone bad and a tailgate unlocked led to the mystery launching of “Breezy” out the back of the truck one night. They had not discovered it until they got home and had no idea which street had claimed a most vital part of their lives. Well, after a frantic search by family and friends, his son eventually thought to go report the chair missing to the police department. The officer on duty led him to the missing “Breezy”. After much worry and waiting, he was able to have his mobility back. He told me how the lost chair episode led them to put in an application for a new one which in turn helped another family once the old chair was recovered. We made introductions, Henry and Sharon then thanked us for not hocking the chair for a couple bucks at the pawn shop.
Well, the story could have ended here and been quite sweet…but there is more.
I told Henry that our family and several other church members and friends of this ministry had been praying for him. Well, at least we had been praying for the owner of "Breezy"!
Then…there was Silence…and a tear fell down Henry’s face.
He smiled through the tears and said, “Losing that chair about put me over the edge!”
He went on to tell me how losing his leg to diabetes four years ago (after serving this country in the military and working independently all his life) made him feel he had nothing left to contribute.
His wife, Sharon, had suffered 3 strokes in the past couple of years and he felt the burden on her to take care of him was too much. He had actually thought about how to end things and just hope someone would help her. He said, “My nephew, who is a pastor, came to me three weeks ago and laid it on the line!” The nephew described how he had watched a self reliant man come to a place of brokenness in order, he believed, that the Lord could now get his full attention. Sometimes the source of desperation is not the enemy to our soul; sometimes…God orchestrates the pain. The one thing that had kept him from just flat out giving up was his little grandson. Henry expressed wanting to be around to watch him grow. Henry went on to tell me that losing that chair was a blessing. Miss Sharon had prayed for him for the past 14 years to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior. Again, pride and self reliance had led him to believe he was just fine on his own. But, he now had to ask for help from the V.A. to get a new leg, a new chair, and others to physically assist him. Facing the choice of giving up, or giving it over...he made a choice!
His tears continued a little as he told me, “Kathy, I want you to know, Jesus has been the Lord of my life for the past three weeks…I’m saved!”
Sharon touched my face and with a slow slurred precious voice said, "Now, I can rest!"
Well as you may believe, by this time we were all three standing in front of a king size dryer crying joyfully together.
Just about that time, Richard walked in to check on me. I was able to share this time with Richard and together standing there as brothers and sisters in Christ we prayed!
Henry was going to be driving the next day to Oklahoma City to finally receive a prosthetic leg and some day “Breezy” will be a distant memory.
Somehow, my little mishap with the washing machine did not now seem so upsetting.
Henry was baptized a few weeks later at his nephew’s church.
One final question I asked myself was...Didn't I get the memo...didn't I know, that God almighty...maker of heaven and earth...could use any typical Monday morning at my house to teach me... to trust Him?
We often hear people ask, “Where is God?”
I hope you know Richard and I have discovered…that sometimes...
God is at the Laundry Mat!
Well, it is Sunday night and I better go because tomorrow…it’s a typical Monday around here…
Praise God!
Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
_________________________________________________________________________
An unexplained mystery guest ending up in our front yard on a very breezy summer day. Its name sewn on the back was “Breezy”.
Breezy, is a wheelchair. Baffled at where the possible owner may be, and slightly worried the Oklahoma winds had carried said owner away, we called the police to come get the chair and hopefully reunite it with its owner.
It was just one of the weird things that seem to happen around our house routinely. While we enjoy the adventures, usually, this one led us to pray.
We asked that God would keep the owner safe and provide a way to either lead them to find the chair or somehow get a replacement soon.
Not much thought went on about the chair after a couple of weeks and frankly, as a lot of us tend to do, we get busy and forget to be fervent in our prayers.
Well I wanted to tell you how the Lord allowed this event to come back into our lives and bless my husband and me with… “The rest of the story” (my respects to Paul Harvey):
It was a typical Monday morning. And by typical, I mean, “Mom I can’t find my other shoe” “Mom the dog ran down the street and won’t come back when I call him” “I’m out of lunch money” “my jeans are in the washer and the water is still full to the top and didn’t drain”!
Okay…so “typical Monday” might need some improvement at my house.
Didn't the washing machine get the memo that Richard and I had an appointment in Kansas City tomorrow morning and needed to leave this afternoon to get to the hotel and go over the meeting schedule? Didn't the children remember they are to lay the clothes out the night before and be well prepared and calm in the mornings before school? Didn't the makers of my 5 year old washing machine get the memo that the first washing machine I owned lasted for 17 years and I expected no less from this one? Didn't Donna Reed leave me her pearl necklace and apron and a manual showing me exactly how to manage a family, household and ministry? Ummm...NOPE!
I rushed the kids to school, without breakfast (I know-sign me up for mother of the year) and threw the wet load of clothes into the car and headed to the local laundry mat.
Did I mention the grumbling? No not the hungry children grumbling…ME! I was NOT moved at this turn of events to sing “Trust and Obey” or quote “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” I was actually quite ticked off!
Again, didn't the Universe revolve around my schedule?
I pulled into the parking lot of the laundry mat and scanning quickly for a parking spot…my eye caught sight of a pickup truck with the tailgate down and a ramp with a wheelchair that had the name “Breezy” sewn on the back of the chair.
Could it be? Was this our “Breezy”?
I entered the laundry mat and began looking at the other customers wondering if someone here belonged with that chair.
On the last row… there was a man, missing one leg, in an automated chair.
He was watching a quiet, graceful woman fold towels.
A little nervous, I approached them and asked if the chair in the parking lot belonged to him. He confirmed that it was his. So I then asked if by chance he had lost that chair in town several months ago.
He hesitated and asked, “How did you know that?” My heart seemed to skip a beat and I had chills up and down my arms. I told him our story of finding the chair and calling the police. He explained that the combination of a left turn gone bad and a tailgate unlocked led to the mystery launching of “Breezy” out the back of the truck one night. They had not discovered it until they got home and had no idea which street had claimed a most vital part of their lives. Well, after a frantic search by family and friends, his son eventually thought to go report the chair missing to the police department. The officer on duty led him to the missing “Breezy”. After much worry and waiting, he was able to have his mobility back. He told me how the lost chair episode led them to put in an application for a new one which in turn helped another family once the old chair was recovered. We made introductions, Henry and Sharon then thanked us for not hocking the chair for a couple bucks at the pawn shop.
Well, the story could have ended here and been quite sweet…but there is more.
I told Henry that our family and several other church members and friends of this ministry had been praying for him. Well, at least we had been praying for the owner of "Breezy"!
Then…there was Silence…and a tear fell down Henry’s face.
He smiled through the tears and said, “Losing that chair about put me over the edge!”
He went on to tell me how losing his leg to diabetes four years ago (after serving this country in the military and working independently all his life) made him feel he had nothing left to contribute.
His wife, Sharon, had suffered 3 strokes in the past couple of years and he felt the burden on her to take care of him was too much. He had actually thought about how to end things and just hope someone would help her. He said, “My nephew, who is a pastor, came to me three weeks ago and laid it on the line!” The nephew described how he had watched a self reliant man come to a place of brokenness in order, he believed, that the Lord could now get his full attention. Sometimes the source of desperation is not the enemy to our soul; sometimes…God orchestrates the pain. The one thing that had kept him from just flat out giving up was his little grandson. Henry expressed wanting to be around to watch him grow. Henry went on to tell me that losing that chair was a blessing. Miss Sharon had prayed for him for the past 14 years to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior. Again, pride and self reliance had led him to believe he was just fine on his own. But, he now had to ask for help from the V.A. to get a new leg, a new chair, and others to physically assist him. Facing the choice of giving up, or giving it over...he made a choice!
His tears continued a little as he told me, “Kathy, I want you to know, Jesus has been the Lord of my life for the past three weeks…I’m saved!”
Sharon touched my face and with a slow slurred precious voice said, "Now, I can rest!"
Well as you may believe, by this time we were all three standing in front of a king size dryer crying joyfully together.
Just about that time, Richard walked in to check on me. I was able to share this time with Richard and together standing there as brothers and sisters in Christ we prayed!
Henry was going to be driving the next day to Oklahoma City to finally receive a prosthetic leg and some day “Breezy” will be a distant memory.
Somehow, my little mishap with the washing machine did not now seem so upsetting.
Henry was baptized a few weeks later at his nephew’s church.
One final question I asked myself was...Didn't I get the memo...didn't I know, that God almighty...maker of heaven and earth...could use any typical Monday morning at my house to teach me... to trust Him?
We often hear people ask, “Where is God?”
I hope you know Richard and I have discovered…that sometimes...
God is at the Laundry Mat!
Well, it is Sunday night and I better go because tomorrow…it’s a typical Monday around here…
Praise God!
Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
_________________________________________________________________________
Henry and Sharon: Ponca City, Oklahoma. Photo by Richard Lonsinger
Order Michele Cushatt's "UNDONE" here
