July 17.
We left Shreveport shortly after seven a.m. I know the time because Miss Renee came to our 6:30 a.m. circle up and her daughter had to be at work at 7. That helped me peg the time. During our devotions, Wes told us a story of learning to trust in God’s grace. He owned a building which was given over to a Christian counseling service in which he also worked. One room was rented out at market rates to help pay taxes and utilities for the building itself. At the time it was vacant and getting ready for another renter, another counselor was there helping her clients transition when she retired. One client needed a handicap accessible entrance.
And here comes the story of God’s grace in action: Shortly before the meeting, Wes had given over control of the building to God, including worrying about how to pay the building’s expenses. When the visiting counselor went through the list of clients and their needs, the one who needed a handicap entrance seemed like a perfect match for Wes. But then the counselor said, “But wait! She needs a handicap-accessible entrance, no stairs. And you don’t have that.” “Yes, we do,” said Wes. Everyone was surprised by his response. “No, we don’t.” The only room with such an entrance was the one they were renting out. It was not used by the counseling practice. “Yes, we do,” Wes insisted.
At the very same time that he said that (as noted on his secretary’s log) a person had called and asked him to call back. When he got hold of him, he learned that the person had been calling for a few days, and they were going to do all the maintenance on the building as an offering to God. It was a lesson for Wes to trust in God and rely on God instead of on his own efforts in doing God’s work.
We traveled to the Louisiana city of Natchitoches (pronounced Knack-a-tish) where we were going to spend three nights at the Baptist church and work on a project for the local Fuller Center.