When Do You Want To Give?

Nick walked 14 miles and he was so excited to be back on the road. We made it to beautiful downtown Chatham.   The afternoon heat started to rise as well as the humidity, so decided to go to the local library and give our generator a little break.  We were there until about 3:30, then we went back to the RV, because Nick was going to have his weekly call with our friend Paul.

Since the library was closing at 8:00 pm, we went back for a while; having our own computers to work on, makes it more enjoyable; this way we do not have to worry about a time limit while we are checking on emails or updating our blogs.

After the library closed, we drove around the town and we found that in town there was a big shopping center area where a Food Lion grocery store took must of the center.  We were able to park in their parking lot for the night and we were very thankful to God. (Most of the time we stay at Wal Mart or at a local churches, it depends what's available).


Since the beginning of summer we have been waking up around 4:30 or so to get ready for our day.  Sometimes we need to drive back several miles, and we need to get position on our route before 5:45 or as soon as there is daylight to avoid the heat of the day and get some mileage done.  -- We usually go to bed by 9:00 or so.


So we made ourselves at home at the shopping center and we were ready to go to sleep by 8:30.  Since it was our first day on the road, we were very tired, we were so tired we just said good night to each other, and we both felt asleep right away.  For me it is kind of rare to do this, I usually toss and turn, make myself comfortable and talk to God for a while, before I finally fall asleep.  This time I do not remember doing any of that.

All of the sudden I heard a knock on our door,  I thought maybe it was a police officer and wanted us to move out of the parking lot... it would  not be the first time that this happened.... so I tried to ignore it and once again, I heard a second knock.  I tried to wake up Nick, but he was sound asleep.  I did not want to get up by myself, so on the third knock, Nick heard it, got up and moved toward the door.  I was right behind him.


As he opened the door, I heard a voice of a man on the outside of the RV.  He said he needed gas and wanted to know if we had an extra container with gasoline that we could give him, or couple dollars so he could make it home to North Carolina.  Nick said, "Wait for a moment." So he came back in and grabbed couple dollars, handed them to him and bid him good night.


As we were making our way back into bed, I looked at the clock and it was 4:00 am.  I thought to myself. "How inconsiderate! It is 4:00 am in the morning! I cannot believe he was so selfish and self-centered and not to think about bothering people soo early in the morning." As all these words started to run in my head, I heard a still small voice.... "How inconsiderate and self-centered? Aren't you just thinking how he just bothered you and got you out of bed???  Aren't you being self-centered too? 


I immediately recognized the voice and I said... "But Lord, it is four o'clock in the morning. "Yesss" He said. All of the sudden a couple bible passages came to mind:

 

Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"— when you now have it with you.  

                                                                                                                                            Proverbs 3:28

 As well as:

 

Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and  I have nothing to set before him.'  

Luke 11:5 & 6

Then I said to God... "Lord, I do not mind helping, but it is soooo early in the moning." and He replied, "When do you want to give? Only when it is convenient for you or when you feel like it?"  As I laid on bed I looked towards the ceiling of the RV and I reluctantly said, "I want to give when You want me to." After that, I went to sleep for another 45 minutes and then my personal alarm (Nick) woke me up and said "Sweetie, it is time to rise and shine."

We got ready for another day and Nick walked 12 miles.  We made it all the way to Altavista, VA.  Our routine was pretty much like the day before. We went to the local library and stay there until they closed at 5:30pm.  

Once again we went to the local Food Lion, made ourselves at home in their parking lot and enjoyed the weather.... it rained couple of times (it was nice and refreshing).  Nick was reading a book and I was working on writing 2nd Peter in my note book. (I have been copying the books of John, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, 1st Peter and 2nd Peter in my notepad) and this has been a very enlightening experience.   

I was standing by the door, with the door opened, feeling the breeze.  I was soo into my writing that when a man came and knocked at our door, he really startled me. I opened the screen door and as I greeted him, he said to us... "I see that you are in Christian ministry." I said, "Yes", and I began to tell him about our journey. 

As soon as Nick approached the door, Chad asked us: "Are you  in need of  laundry or  need to take a shower? If so you can come to our house. My mother and I are in ministry too and we travel to the local railroad stations or bus stations and if anyone is stranded we offer them something to eat and drink.  We give them a bible and share the gospel.  The name of our ministry is Road of Hope Ministries.We survive by peoples donation and God's provision." 

As he went to his car to get us his ministry card, Nick and I agreed in sharing the blessings that God has giving us, so we went to our piggy bank and got couple dollars and handed it to him.  We wanted to be part of what God is doing. -- So the next time God asks me again, "When do you want to give?" I can freely say, "Whenever You want me to, Lord!"