Fwd: goosebumps.

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God Works in Many Ways> > Read this all the way. It will give you goosebumps. If you've never seen> this, it will thrill your heart; if you have seen it click it off, if you> can, I couldn't. It's beautiful and the prayer at the end is something we> all need to pray to God for the benefit of each other.> > The Big Wheel > > In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just> 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three> months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much> more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on> the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did> manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to> leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.> > If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time,> I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the kids until they looked> brand new and then put on my best homemade dress. I loaded them into the> rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to> every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck. The kids> stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to> convince whomever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything.> I had to have a job. Still no luck.> > The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root> Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was> called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place and she> peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed> someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning.> She paid 65 cents an hour and I could start that night. I raced home and> called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained> with her to come and sleep! on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could> arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep. This> seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal.> > That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers we all> thanked God for finding Mommy a job.> > And so I started at the Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings I woke> the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip> money--fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by,> heating bills added a strain to my meager wage. The tires on the old Chevy> had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill> them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go> home. > > One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found> four tires in the back seat. New tires! There was no note, no nothing,> just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in> Indiana? I wondered. I made a deal with the owner of the local service> station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his> office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did> for him to do the tires.> > I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough.> Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the> kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some> old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be something for> Santa to deliver on Christmas morning.> > Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the> boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair. On Christmas Eve> the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. These were the> truckers, Les, , and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.> > A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were> dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around> and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home> before the sun came up.> > When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock on Christmas morning I> hurried to the car. I was hoping the kids wouldn't wake up before! I> managed to get home and get the presents from the basement and place them> under the tree. (We had cut down a small cedar tree by the side of the> road down by the dump.) It was still dark and I couldn't see much, but> there appeared to be some dark shadows in the car-or was that just a trick> of the night? Something certainly looked different, but it was hard to> tell what. When I reached the car I peered warily into one of the side> windows. > > Then my jaw dropped in amazement. My old battered Chevy was filled full to> the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's> side door, scrambled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat.> Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was a whole> case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was> full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the> other boxes: There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries.> There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes.> There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was> a whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five> toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.> > As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most> amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will> never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning.> Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December.> > And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop.> > > Let's continue praying for one another.> > Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this right now. Lord, show> them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to> minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain! give> them Your peace & mercy.> > Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your ability> to work through them.> Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I ask You to give them> understanding, patience, & strength as they learn submission to Your> leading. > > Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by revealing> Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You.> > Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them Your courage.> Where there is a sin blocking them, reveal it, and break its hold over my> friend's life. > > Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders, and> friends to support, and encourage them. Give each of them discernment to> recognize the demonic forces around them, and reveal to them the power> they have in You to defeat it. I ask You to do these things in Jesus'> name. Amen. > > Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both.> Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something I know Christ> would do. > [] PAULA[]Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

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God Works in Many Ways> > Read this all the way. It will give you goosebumps. If you've never seen> this, it will thrill your heart; if you have seen it click it off, if you> can, I couldn't. It's beautiful and the prayer at the end is something we> all need to pray to God for the benefit of each other.> > The Big Wheel > > In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just> 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three> months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much> more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on> the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did> manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to> leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.> > If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time,> I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the kids until they looked> brand new and then put on my best homemade dress. I loaded them into the> rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to> every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck. The kids> stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to> convince whomever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything.> I had to have a job. Still no luck.> > The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root> Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was> called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place and she> peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed> someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning.> She paid 65 cents an hour and I could start that night. I raced home and> called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained> with her to come and sleep! on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could> arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep. This> seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal.> > That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers we all> thanked God for finding Mommy a job.> > And so I started at the Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings I woke> the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip> money--fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by,> heating bills added a strain to my meager wage. The tires on the old Chevy> had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill> them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go> home. > > One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found> four tires in the back seat. New tires! There was no note, no nothing,> just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in> Indiana? I wondered. I made a deal with the owner of the local service> station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his> office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did> for him to do the tires.> > I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough.> Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the> kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some> old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be something for> Santa to deliver on Christmas morning.> > Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the> boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair. On Christmas Eve> the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. These were the> truckers, Les, , and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.> > A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were> dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around> and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home> before the sun came up.> > When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock on Christmas morning I> hurried to the car. I was hoping the kids wouldn't wake up before! I> managed to get home and get the presents from the basement and place them> under the tree. (We had cut down a small cedar tree by the side of the> road down by the dump.) It was still dark and I couldn't see much, but> there appeared to be some dark shadows in the car-or was that just a trick> of the night? Something certainly looked different, but it was hard to> tell what. When I reached the car I peered warily into one of the side> windows. > > Then my jaw dropped in amazement. My old battered Chevy was filled full to> the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's> side door, scrambled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat.> Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was a whole> case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was> full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the> other boxes: There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries.> There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes.> There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was> a whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five> toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.> > As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most> amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will> never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning.> Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December.> > And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop.> > > Let's continue praying for one another.> > Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this right now. Lord, show> them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to> minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain! give> them Your peace & mercy.> > Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your ability> to work through them.> Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I ask You to give them> understanding, patience, & strength as they learn submission to Your> leading. > > Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by revealing> Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You.> > Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them Your courage.> Where there is a sin blocking them, reveal it, and break its hold over my> friend's life. > > Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders, and> friends to support, and encourage them. Give each of them discernment to> recognize the demonic forces around them, and reveal to them the power> they have in You to defeat it. I ask You to do these things in Jesus'> name. Amen. > > Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both.> Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something I know Christ> would do. > [] PAULA[]Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com