Have you ever gone on a God Hunt? A God Hunt begins when you teach yourself to look for God’s hand at work in the every day occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
 
 
 
As suspected, the new bathroom cabinet I purchased from HOBO’s was too big for the collapsed backseat of my compact car. The young salesman assisted me in lifting the cabinet/mirror and the sink/counter into the back, but I would have to beg or borrow a van from someone, make another 20-minute trip to and back from Lombard. And, I really needed to bring the cabinet home this Tuesday night so that Mike, our handyman, could install it on Wednesday morning.

Who in the world could I borrow some vehicle from large enough to haul that cabinet in to my house?

I left HOBO’s trying to remember if my son’s SUV was roomy enough to fit in this box that measured 36” by 28” by 28”. Drat—it was a cold November night, slightly rainy. Jeremy would have to clear out the back of his SUV—what a nuisance!

At that moment, a flatbed truck cut in front of my car, zoomed into the lane that was on the far left of me. The truck had a large sign that read:

MENARDS RENT-A-TRUCK
ONLY $18.99 for 75 MINUTES!

“Now there’s a thought. I could rent a truck from the Menards near my house—I’ve done that before. I wonder if there’s a Menards near here. I could leave my car, rent the truck, pick up the cabinet from HOBO’s, drive it home, unload the cabinet, then drive back it back, pay for it, then pick up my car in the parking lot. Would that take more than 75 minutes? Probably not.”

I literally thought to myself, Follow that Menards rent-a-truck. Sure enough, a Menards loomed before my eyes in the shopping center to my left. The bozo who had cut me off, moving across two lanes, was probably returning this truck there. I then proceeded to cut across two lanes in order to make a sudden left-hand turn into the parking lot myself.

“David,” I phoned home. “I’m at Menards. I’m renting a truck to move that cabinet. It didn’t fit into the Mazda.”

“You’re renting a truck…?”

“Yes. I’m renting a truck.” My theory on trucks (not semis, just the flatbed kind) is that all kinds of bozos drive trucks—like the guy who cut me off in the rent-a-truck. If bozos can drive trucks, so can I.

So—I rented the truck, drove back to Lombard, picked up the cabinet, drove home where David helped me tip the cabinet box onto a dolly and move it into the garage. He then decided to accompany me back to Menards, where I learned that I had arrived within the 75 minutes and my deposit would cover the fee. We picked up the little Mazda, ordered me a dinner at the Wendy’s drive-through, returned home and emptied the back of its load—a mirrored cabinet, a porcelain sink and countertop, and the funky new faucet set.

I was home by 7:15, ready to meet my handyman by Wednesday morning.

However, in reflecting back on this little incident, I realize the “bozo” driving the truck may in truth have been a “bozo” (he seemed a little bozo-ish standing at the Menards customer-service counter in front of me), but he clearly participated in a scheme that we call some “unexpected evidence of God’s care.” Because of all the remodeling going on, not to mention the fact that it is the first week of December with all the Christmas tasks also looming, I had been up since 2:19 that morning, functioning in meetings with just four hours of sleep—not enough to propel a dedicated non-shopper into an evening of shopping. Certainly, I wasn’t eagerly looking forward to begging a car from family or friends.

That truck shot in front of me with a sign that could have been neon: Rent-a-Truck! Rent-a-Truck! I was not thinking about Menards trucks; I was thinking about whether or not I could fit that cabinet box in my son’s SUV. And, the guy driving that truck had to be cheeky enough to cut me off, someone who could clip in front of me, then once he had my attention, zoom over into the next lane. I got the idea: “Hey! What if I rent a truck? It’s only $18.99 for 75 minutes. I’ve spent $541 already, and it will save me a whole night of hunting around. Yah! Let’s rent a truck!”

This is a silly story and the fact that I consider it to be one of the ways my loving Heavenly Father intervened in my really long day may seem silly to someone else. But hey!—it’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Once again, I spy God!
 
 
 
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Award-winning author Karen Mains has long had an interest in spiritual formation and the obedient Christian walk. She has written about the God Hunt in her book by the same name, The God Hunt: The Delightful Chase and the Wonder of Being Found. A hardback copy can be ordered from Mainstay Ministries for $10.00 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. Contact Karen at info@mainstayministries.org and she will be happy to autograph a copy for you.

Karen continues to write content for her Christian blog, "Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains." In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.

Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags, Africa bags. This microfinance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.

For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. The are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries main website, please click here.

Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.
 
 
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