Message from Donn Start, Principal West Valley Campus

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”

It was a Sunday evening in 1979 as I traveled alone the 3 ½ hours back from visiting my family in Grand Haven Michigan. Always looking for a shorter route, or a scenic road, I decided to travel across the great state of Michigan on a lonely country highway that runs through the middle of nowhere.

While traveling through “nowhere,” I noticed my headlights dimming seconds before the “snapping” sound came from under the hood of my ’68 Ford Falcon. I steered to the apron of the two-lane road, stopped, and inspected under the hood. No mystery here—my generator belt had worn right through. No lights and no power to the motor. Now what I thought. “I am in a real bind, help me Lord,” I prayed.

After 15 minutes of total quiet I spotted the headlights of an old beat up pickup truck coming from the opposite direction. The driver stopped his truck, got out, and immediately saw the trouble. “Tough luck” the older gentleman whistled through his missing bottom teeth, “the nearest auto parts store is 12 miles away and they sure aren’t open on a Sunday night.” Not the news that this bewildered 23 year old wanted to hear.

After standing in silence for several long minutes, the older gentleman introduced himself by telling me that folks around these parts call him “Montana.” With a whistle, he assured me that he was going to somehow solve my problem tonight. “Hop in,” he gestured. “We’re going to an old junk yard that a buddy owns.” Long story short, Montana solved my problem that night by finding a generator belt still attached to a rusted old Ford sitting in his friend’s junkyard of cars. With a few twists of a wrench the rubber belt was off from the junked car and minutes later securely attached to my car. “It’s a miracle for me that you were driving this way,” I told him as I started my car up.

“Funny you should say that,” he said. “I was returning from work when I saw you stranded. Usually I work Sunday nights cleaning the gas station diner. But the owner told me that she didn’t need me to work this evening, instead her son would do the cleaning in the morning. Then ole Montana looked at me and smiled. “I guess that this is the real job the Lord had in mind for me tonight.”

Several of my non-Christian friends laugh at my story and have tried to convince me “Montana to the rescue” was simply a coincidence. However, I am convinced that this event was an example of God winking at someone that He loves dearly – me!

Do you or your students have a story of a “coincidence” where God has lovingly winked at you in a special-coincidental way? If you do, I’d love to hear about it.