Our Angel

I guess this really starts over the past few months. David stops going to church because they have all sold out (in his opinion-I've tried talking to him, but he doesn't believe what I have to say about it) because of their tax exempt status. According to him, churches had to agree to certain immoral things to get that status. NOt true, but beside the point for now. In addition to his feelings about the tax exempt status, he is constantly on the look out for the "truth" and "proof" that a church is bad.

What he's has grabbed onto recently is concerning what the "Sabbath" is. I have explained to him that although God did set a specific day of the week apart as the Sabbath in the Old Testament, in the New Testament it was basically abolished. (There is a lot more-A LOT- more to this discussion, but all you need to know for now is the discussion that David and I have been going back and forth about.) He insists that the Sabbath is a Saturday and any church not meeting on a Saturday is not a valid church. I tell him that Jesus actually was more interested in the purpose of a Sabbath......setting time aside each week to be with God and other things that build up your faith and bring you closer to God.

We were talking about this as recently as the Sunday that we were on vacation. (We just got back last Saturday-the 16th).

So last night, we get into the Camry and head to his parents house. At a stop light in our town, David says he smells oil, but neither of us think anything else about it. As we leave our small town headed for Corpus where his parents live, smoke starts coming out from under the hood. He pulls over as safely and fast as possible, and opens the hood to find oil spraying up out of the radiator. We aren't going anywhere now.

As we sit in the sun in the car, the kids start to heat up and I begin to get worried it's very close to 100 degrees outside. It doesn't take long for kids to overheat and need medical help.

We call his parents and his dad agrees to come pick us all up. Meanwhile a dark blue Dodge pick up stops in front of us. A man gets out and talks to David. I can't hear what they are saying, I am with the kids and David and the man are standing outside talking.

David comes back and says the man is going to take the kids and I home, and when David's dad comes, the both of them will tow the Camry back.

As we get the kids secure in the Dodge, the man tells David that he would be more comfortable if David came too. (I mean duh. We were both so distracted that we completely forget about some basic safety rules.) So David calls his dad to tell him of the change in plans.)

As we pull away from the car, the man turns on Air1 radio....a CHristian station. I tell him that we listen to that station. (At this point I don't tell him that the 'we' is the boys and i, not David. Even when I later ask him where he lives and when he says "Portland" and say that 'we' go to church there.)

So we are chatting about radio stations, church, and the mens work. See, the stranger has on a uniform for a plant just down the road, which leads them to discuss shift work.

"What I am really struggling with right now," the stranger says, "is that with this line of work I don't get to go to church every Sunday." This was actually a major issue with David (and probably still is...I don't think the whole 'tax exempt sell out' business is legitimately what is keeping David from church. I don't know what really is, but I don't think it is that.)

Joshua starts crying, and I can't really hear how it comes up, but suddenly they are talking about the sabbath, and what it really means. I do know that it was the stranger who brought it up.

The stranger goes on to ask David, in a teacher/student questioning about what does the Bible say about the Sabbath

(David: "to keep it holy"
Stranger: And what does it mean to keep it Holy?
David: Well, to read the Bible and be close to God'
stranger: but do you only read scripture on Sunday?
David, thinks about it and says "no"
stranger: so that can't be all it means to keep it holy

Through this conversation the Stranger ends up saying about how the Sabbath is for spending time with your family. (Kids screaming in the backseat interfered with me hearing the whole conversation.)

The stranger tells David about a bible study at his house every other Tuesday night and how his wife (who homeschools their kids) wants to start one up for women.

How perfect is it that this man works the same type of job as David, and his wife homeschools, which is something that David and I (for now) are heading toward doing with our kids.

Two people that both David and I can relate to.

Also, through the last few weeks when I have been so down and stressed out, I have felt like GOd has given me the song "Strong Enough" by Matthew West. Guess what song was on Air1 during our ride? Yep. The song about having to do it alone, but not really doing it alone.

There's more, but unfortunately I am already forgetting some of the little details. I am going to keep thinking about it and as I remember, come back and add them to the story.