Testimonies

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It was still an hour before sunrise and I had just gotten back to my mobile home. I had worked all night cleaning the gutters of a shopping center. I was tired but excited by the gift the Lord had given me that night.

I ‘heard’ the Lord suggest that I get some sleep.

“You should really get to bed, son. You don’t know what I have in store for you tomorrow.”

My answer was, {Pleeease, Daddy, I want to write down these things you do for me so I won’t ever forget them.}

“Okay, but try to do it quickly.”

{I’ll be able to if you help me.}

“Okay.”



*******


It was the afternoon before another night of cleaning more gutters of a local shopping center. I usually work alone but this was a big job with a completion date that was only a couple of days away. My son, James, has helped me with part of the job two nights prior and my ex-wife had helped me do some more the night before. My athletic daughter had originally agreed to help me do the job that night. She called me to say that she wasn’t feeling well.

“… but I feel so baaad that I can’t help you. Jimmy told me how hard your work is.”

“If you’re sick please don’t worry about it. I’m really feeling good today. Your Mom helped me last night and I’m feeling a lot stronger today. I’ll call you in a couple of days.”

As we hung up I thought, “Wow, she cares about me working too hard! Have I ever heard such concern for me like that from her? How sweet. Can we ever be a father and daughter, a Daddy and baby Girl?”

I had not been an outwardly bad father but my emotional/spiritual illness had disallowed any real relationship between us. That same condition, that the Lord was in the midst of healing, had disallowed any real relationship with anyone. And infidelity, addictions, and divorce were the result.

I also had been laid off from a 23 year career and had gone through open heart surgery 15 months earlier. This new cleaning service was one I had chosen as an independent alternative to corporate computer cubicle environments.

Now, sitting in my mobile home, I realized that I had a long night ahead of me. And after that night I did not know how many more nights it would take to complete the gutter cleaning job. The contract bid was set so the more hours the job took me, the less per hour I would net. Any chance of profit seemed impossible at that point. But I had agreed to the price and I had to do what I promised to do.

I “spoke” to the Lord, {Well, Lord, I know I chose this job. I know I love the physical and process challenge. I know I’d rather die doing this job then sitting at a computer terminal. But how am I going to be able to do the rest of those gutters AND the sidewalks by Friday morning?}

“I’m enough for you.”

{Well, pardon my lack of faith, but I sometimes feel like it's all useless. Oh, well. Your Will be done.}

As I walked out the front door to drive my equipment to the job site I glanced at a note I had posted on the wall next to the door. A brother in Christ had shared the quote with me months earlier. “Do your best. Pray that it’s blest. Let God do the rest.”

It was a dark but not stormy night as I headed north on Highway 1 to Santa Cruz. I heard Jon Courson, a CSN radio pastor, leading his congregation in the most off-key and wonderful singing worship. My constant aloneness made me wish that I was with that group right that minute. I decided I could be and simply raised my right hand in worship and praise until it became dangerous to continue to do so.

I drove into the shopping center and found a line of empty parking spaces long enough for me to park my van and trailer across them. The stores in that subsection of the center were all closed. I just had to make sure that there was no foot traffic and, if clear, I could set up early and get started.

There was only one young man trying to get into the closed coffee shop in the far end of the line of stores. Other then him, there was no one in this part of the center. I finish my Subway sandwich and one of the two peppermint mocha’s I had bought to keep me going all night. Then I had a smoke, and started my setup.

As I rechecked the gutters of section I was going to start that night, I notice that the same young man from the coffee shop was now sitting at an outside table of that section and he was looking intensely at a map.

I learned later what he was praying as he was searching for directions.

{Lord, what should I do now? I’m bored but I don’t want to see a movie. I’m short of money anyway. I’m also not sure how I can get to Oregon in time for Thanksgiving. But I’m available for whatever way you might need me.}

I eventually would have had to ask him to move from his place so I could do my work. But there was time to be friendly.

“On a trip?”

“Yeah. What’s the best way to get to Oregon from here?”

“Quickest is Interstate 5. Slowest is Highway 1. 101 is somewhere in between those two.”

“Thanks”.

I went back to my rig to start blocking drains and something drew me back to the young man.

“Can you use some money?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’ve got to clean these gutters and sidewalks and it’s an all night job. If you can handle it, I pay ten dollars an hour, cash, at the end of the night.”

“I can handle it”

“Cool. Do you have warm clothes that will keep you dry?”

“I’ve got a snowboarding suit”

“That’s perfect. And you’ll need some shoes that will keep your feet dry”

“Awesome! I’ll go get changed.”

The young man prayed, {Thank you, Lord!}

I prayed, {Thank you, Lord!}

I was sealing a storm drain with a garbage bag and masking tape when the young man approached in his snow gear.

“My name’s Bob”

“I’m Erin”

We shook hands and I went back to sealing the drain. I explained what I was doing and why. Then I broached the Lord into our conversation so the Erin would know where I was coming from.

“I guess the Lord is with us both tonight”

“Always.”

I looked at him straight in the eye and he returned the honesty.

“Well, praise God. I didn’t know how I was going to get this job done.”

“And I didn’t know what I was going to do tonight AND I was short of money.”

I had to stop my preparations. I was dazed by the blessing the Lord had sent me. I shared some of my testimony and he shared some of his. He was 21, on his way to a Thanksgiving with someone in Oregon and then heading to a dog sledding job at Tahoe. I was overcome with emotion as I realized how the Lord had arranged this appointment for both of us. But I was mostly feeling that indescribable overwhelm that hits
when I can not deny God’s Hand in my life.

Eventually all I could do was thank God again and just get going with the task at hand. I explained the time consuming process I was about to embark on of climbing the ladder, cleaning a section of gutter, coming back down the ladder, repositioning the ladder further along the gutter, and starting the process all over again.

“What can I do?”

“The ladder angle is a bit steep so if you just hold the ladder while I’m up there I’ll feel a bit safer.”

I went up for the first look at the long line of gutter. There was deep muck inside, deeper then the gutters of the other two sections that James and I had done. There was one place where a thick layer of moss was growing out of the muck. I started grabbing the muck by the handfuls and dropping it below. I would have to clean all this out before washing it because this stuff would clog the drain pipes for sure.

{Lord, this 6 hours bid for gutter cleaning was WAY too low. Will I ever learn to estimate correctly?}

I came down the ladder and told Erin I was going to have to get the Gutter cleaning tool and scoop out the whole length of the gutter before washing it.

“Can I do the ladder work? I’m bored standing around down here.”

Should I let him? I don’t want this young man hurt while helping me. His father’s not here and I need to watch out for him. But I also don’t enjoy the thought of innumerable ups and downs. I’ll let him do it and just stay close below him. If he falls, he’s small enough where I wouldn’t get too hurt if I caught him or broke his fall.

I told him okay. As he climbed up and started to scoop out the sludge, I was holding the ladder from below. Then I noticed his feet disappear from the top rung of the ladder.

“This roof is sturdy wood and pretty flat. Why don’t I just walk along the whole length and scoop as I go?”

I looked at the underside of the sidewalk overhang and it was indeed wood and it was indeed at a very shallow incline.

“Okay, but do you have medical insurance?

“Yeah. Don’t worry. I’m light, I’ve worked with my dad on roofs for years, and I’ve taught rock climbing.”

{Lord, you’ve sent me Spiderman! We can do all the gutters tonight and I’ll come back Wednesday and Thursday and just do the sidewalks. This job is in the bag!}

It took Erin no time to completely scoop and rinse all three remaining retail section gutters. I thought a bit about doing the sidewalks while he scooped but I had enough to do below supporting his activities. He had a small bucket that he lowered to me when it was full. I then transferred its contents to a bigger bucket and dumped that deep inside the surrounding landscaping. We also had a glorious time sharing our walk with the Lord.

As we finished up he was pretty beat but he wanted to get to San Francisco by the morning. I paid him and gave him the direction options. We were both blown away by what the Lord has done for us this night. We prayed together in the parking lot, hand in hand. Before he drove away he was promising to call me and keep in touch.

“Whatever happens, we’ll see each other in heaven!”

“Yeah. God bless you!”

“God bless you, Erin!”

*******


{Is that okay, Daddy?}

Yes, it’s very nice, son. Now, go to bed.

{I love you, Daddy.}

I love you, son.

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