Caleb

Let me share with you how God turned a painful mistake into a wonderful blessing. One day I was headed to Home Depot with a trailer to get some materials. Before I pulled out of the drive I had the thought to double check the trailer hitch. I ignored this prompting. About a mile down the road I came to a steep hill and hit a little bump in the road. The trailer came unhitched and the safety chains snapped.

In my rear view mirror I could see the trailer hurtling through the air toward the van behind me. I had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. All I could do was cry out to Jesus as I watched the trailer smash into the van. Thank God no one was hurt! This accident could easily have totaled the vehicle or even worse caused loss of life.


The van was taken to a body shop nearby. Estimated repair costs were around $1,450. I had no way to pay that bill. At the time I was working for a Christian ministry in exchange for my room and board. I had no money saved and no way to earn any quickly.


I begged God for mercy and asked forgiveness for my disobedience. If only I had listened to his prompting! But God knew all along this mistake would bring Him glory and teach me a serious lesson in obedience.


God gave me a plan. You see, I had a side business. I am a chainsaw artist. At this time in my life I was still developing this skill and sales didn't come as easily as they do now. God told me to dust off all my carvings that were lying around my shop and set them out at the garage sale we were having that weekend. There was a bear carving that looked like a pig, an old bench that never sold, and a few other reject pieces. I did just as God instructed and made sure every single carving that was lying around made it to the garage sale.


Who would expect to make much money at a garage sale? We had a few pieces of furniture and household items. We advertised the day before in the local paper and set out a few road signs. Nothing happened Friday. Saturday around noon I received a call saying, "You better get over here quick! There is a man here who may buy all your carvings!" That is exactly what happened. He bought every last one of them. The following Monday I delivered the carvings to his cabin and cashed his $1,400 check, nearly the exact amount needed for the repairs. God is always willing to show Himself strong, even in our mistakes. All it requires is obedience and trust. All glory to Him.