Once in Rockford, I looked for work and accepted a job as an engineer at a large company. A year later economic decline and a general layoff brought that to an end. So then I became serious about starting my own business. A friend put me in touch with a salesman named Dave who had ideas for building automated machines. He and I informally became business partners, although we never shared the same perspective regarding faith in God. I was clearly unequally yoked in this situation, as described by the following verse:
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2
Corinthians 6:14, NIV).
But still, the job provided a rather erratic source of income and some valuable job experience. One order we received was for creating a printing press attachment for the company in Ottawa that prints Canada's currency – British American Banknote. We proceeded to design and build the machine, and loaded it into Dave's pickup truck for the trip north. Upon arrival, it took more than a week to complete the installation.
During that time, I became casually acquainted with a woman who was literally printing hundred dollar bills on the press next to ours. Her name was Barb, and she was about twenty years older than me.
When Sunday arrived I borrowed Dave’s truck and attended a church I picked out of a phone book. At first, the large auditorium looked full. But then I spotted two empty chairs near the front. One had a Bible on it, so I asked about the other. Someone said it was vacant, so I sat down.
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A minute later the Bible's owner returned. I was amazed to see it was Barb. Here in a large church in a big city was a familiar face. It seems God had arranged for me to sit with one of the few people I knew in Canada!
After the service, Barb shared with me the difficulties she faced living with a husband who wouldn't attend church, and I shared the difficulties I faced working with a business partner who openly rejected God. Then we prayed together. I genuinely believe it was a God-orchestrated meeting.
Stranded in the cold
Once the machine’s installation was complete, Dave and I began the return trip home. We planned on driving non-stop through the night, and the road between Ottawa and Toronto was a long desolate one, lined with snow. To make matters worse, gas stations were few and far between. When the gauge reached a quarter tank we began looking for gas. It was well past midnight when the needle touched “Empty,”
and we began imagining the worst. It was then we saw a sign for a town two miles off the highway. Exiting we found that the so-called town was no more than a couple houses at an intersection. We turned right rather than head back, reasoning that we would be better off if we ran out of gas near a farmhouse than on the interstate in the bitter cold.
Soon afterward, we did indeed run out of gas. It could have been tragic, as it was cold and dark, and we were in a remote area of Canada. But now there was a tiny miracle. As we rolled to a stop, we found we were directly in front of a small building with a sign declaring it was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police station. The building was dark, so we pounded on the door. Soon an officer in his pajamas showed up. He made us wait in the cold while he put on a uniform.
Then he took us to a truck stop. At the Truck stop, we filled a gas can and tried to hitch-hike back to Dave's truck with no luck.
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It was then I noticed a problem. The cold had dropped my core body temperature to the point that I began having difficulty walking and talking. Dave agreed that I could go inside to warm up, while he continued to look for a ride.
Once inside, I sat at a counter and tried to order a hot beverage. The waitress heard my slurred speech and accused me of being drunk. I tried to tell her I was just cold, but she refused to have anything to do with me. Fortunately, after a while Dave came back. He had found a willing trucker, and before long we were back on the road.
In spite of our mistakes God protected us, and I became wiser about filling gas tanks more often when driving in desolate areas. Brenda and I now look for gas when the needle drops to half a tank! I also gained a new appreciation for how easy it is to misjudge others. I had just experienced what it feels like to be ostracized based on appearance, and it is a lesson I try not to forget when meeting those the world has judged to fall short of its standards. •
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