Timber!

I would have to hurry if any timbers were to be cut that day. One of the rear tires on our four-wheeler had torn the day before, leaving me with only a wheelbarrow to carry my things into the bush.

About 10 minutes down the trail from our house, I noticed that the wheelbarrow was lurching side to side. I stopped to check the tire and found it had split, and the inner tube was bulging through. Sending up a quick prayer, I turned the wheelbarrow around and headed home. I wondered if I should just give up and stay home. It was discouraging to think about my delay and the hour-and-a-half walk to the sawmill, not knowing for sure if anyone else would come and help. But a verse of scripture prodded me along. “No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom” (Luke 9:62). For the moment, the wheelbarrow was my plow, and I was not going to look back.

At home, I replaced the tire within an hour and was ready to hit the trail again. Before I left, Komsy, one of my faithful workers, came by and decided to go with me. As we walked along together, the thought crossed my mind that maybe God’s task for me this day was to get to know Komsy better. He is a new interest in our church. Normally a quiet fellow, Komsy began talking my ear off about his family.

We stopped in a clearing and sat down on a stack of two-by-fours to rest. “Let’s wait here until the others come,” Komsy suggested. Agreeing, I told him I had been praying that at least one sawmill operator would show up to help me. “Here comes your answer to prayer,” Komsy said. I turned around, and there was Dulu, one of the sawmill operators, coming through the woods. The three of us milled as much timber that day as we normally would have with a full crew of eight. Praise the Lord!

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