When Everything Breaks

I mentioned in my last post that during the time of fasting we had a lot of stuff break. Following a couple of years in which almost nothing broke, it seemed like everything did!

Our email server has been toast, or some interesting variety of toast, for what seems like ages. For five days it did not matter because our ISDN and, thus, our fancy dial-up service (with two lines dedicated to it, I could hit speeds of up to 28.8k), was broken. I shared with you in an earlier blog about the joy of fixing that one. I finally broke down and bought a new mobile phone and it broke down within two weeks! About a week ago, my work computer had a fatal Windows XP Pro error requiring reformatting of hard drive. And the joy of reinstalling EVERYTHING!

I almost went and bought an Apple! The problem is a known power management error and my computer guru friend was able to look up the solution on the Microsoft help site! By the way, he rescued the computer and all my data; I back up fanatically but he got it all. One of our colleagues began having big computer problems that ended up in the purchase of a new system. Finally, our car broke. Somehow, the alarm system now thinks we are thieves and every once in awhile imposes an electronic block. Not being a thief, I am not sure how to work around this. It resets after 24 hours so can conveniently be driven or stolen the next day!

Almost everything is back up and going, though the car alarm system is proving problematic. There are other things: heating system is broken at another IMB house in Zagreb that is empty and my responsibility, a visit to the tax authority that did not prove to be profitable for our organization, and a few other little administrative things like, “Where is my one-year visa?” But, I put it all on the table to say that somehow during the time of fasting, none of it was a big deal.

There was a sense of recognizing what is always true: God is in control! None of the broken things caught Him off guard. He intended to use all of them for the schedule, plans, vision, objectives, goals, strategy, and appointments He had for me. The car breakdown provides a good example.

We had a problem. Sunday, December 3^rd, our car would not start when we returned to it following our church’s worship service. No big deal, you say. It is when you are parked in zone 2 of downtown Zagreb. Parking there is free on the weekends but you have to pay beginning at 7 AM on Monday morning. And, there is a two hour limit. I was able to pay for the parking through my mobile phone – they have a system that lets you pay that way. Still, two hours was the maximum I had.

The problem was compounded because the tow-truck driver could not get to the car until noon. Around 9:00 AM, I called the Zagreb parking authority. I explained my predicament to them. The parking police had already ticketed me (seems to me they were rather anxious to give the foreigner a ticket) and ordered the dreaded “spider.” The “spider” is the local word for the tow truck type of vehicle that comes in and lifts an offending vehicle out of a tight spot. The service is not free; if “spidered,” we could expect a fine plus impounding fee of around $300! After my explanation, a very kind customer service representative was able to get the ticket removed and the “spider” cancelled. He gave me until noon.

During this “beg-for-more-time” phone call, which was made on my newly-restored-to-health mobile phone, our neighbors called. They have never called. The woman needed a ride to the Children’s Hospital. Her new baby, Petar, needed an emergency room visit for a condition which they knew would later require surgery but had, overnight, taken a sudden turn for the worse (he was scheduled to have the surgery yesterday, by the way). Just a side-note, the hospital is a five-minute walk of where our car was broken down.

I am not a rocket scientist and am often about as sharp as a marble but even I was beginning to see God’s hand in the details. Normally, we have one car. Right now, we have four cars. Usually, a breakdown means walking and public transportation. However, right now there are three families from our area who are in the States and using our house for free airport parking. Elise had her choice when it came to taking our neighbor and Petar to the hospital.

How did it end up? Elise had a great visit with our neighbor and was able to be a big help, which has been a significant boost in our relationship with that family. I was able to keep a 9:30 AM appointment with DHL to express my year-end expense reports and to meet my neighbor at his new job; I opened an account while I was there. It was his first. For those who like to monitor IMB personnel for wasteful spending habits, this account comes with no obligations.

Oh, by the way, while Elise was downtown, she wisely decided to park in a parking garage and check out our car. It started! She called and we agreed that driving it immediately to the Opel service in our town was the wisest course of action. I met her there, got the car in for service, and took her home. Then, I walked to the bus station in our town, only 10 minutes, and rode the bus back to downtown Zagreb. There, I got the car Elise had left in the parking garage, kept another appointment I had with a guy who is interested in the gospel and going through an outreach Bible study with me, and drove home.

Our entire day went on a schedule not of our making. God built relationships, gave opportunity for sharing the good news, allowed us to keep some appointments, taught us more about trusting Him, rescued our car, and disappointed one tow truck driver. He provided everything we needed, even when we did not know we needed it. He took what was intended to discourage and hold us back and He used it for good in our life and for the sake of others. He used the “bad news” to build His kingdom.

God is the blessed controller of ALL THINGS.