Living in the Gap

Most Christians are familiar with the concept of "The Faith Gap." It's that place no one likes to be: An unknown place. It's the space between what you have and what God is asking of you. It's the distance between your resources and your bills. It's the place God likes us to live, because it requires our constant belief that He is providing all things and that we are not relying on our own resources.

TJ and I moved to Moscow last week. Just enough people showed up at the house to pack the moving van. Clark and I headed out in my car, and TJ came behind in the 20-foot U-haul, towing his little 2-door Ford Focus.

Somewhere he missed a turn, putting him about an hour behind Clark and I.

Then, as I approached Colfax, he called. "I'm going to be late. I just got hit."

The roads between Othello and Ritzville had been a nightmare: Dense, icy fog. Someone hadn't been as careful as he should have been, and TJ watched as an oncoming SUV drifted onto the shoulder, then over-corrected. He says he had a sense of peace about it, knowing the inevitability of the oncoming accident and also knowing he wasn't going to die in it.

In the rearview mirror, he saw red sparks shooting out from the back of the U-haul as the SUV slammed him.

It took out the tow dolly and his Focus. The SUV spun, slamming into the car behind TJ with its rear. All cars were totaled. No one was hurt.

My first thought was, "I wish you hadn't missed you turn!"

Behind TJ was a family -- mom, dad and a 5-year-old girl. TJ says mom gave him a hug and said, "If you hadn't been there, he would have hit us head-on. We'd all be dead."

We're all pretty grateful he missed that turn.

So he sat on the side of the road for a few hours while everything got straightened out: U-haul towed the dolly away. The state patrol towed his car to Ritzville, and he TJ drove the truck up to Moscow. The next day, a friend took him to Ritzville to clean out the car, as it is now headed to Spokane to Geico's insurance lot, where it most likely is a total loss.

Living 200-miles apart and counting on a weekend commute is not the time we were planning on going down to one car.

But: We bought the insurance on the U-haul and the dolly, so we aren't out anything. We should get reimbursed for all of our expenses. We had full-coverage on TJ's car and it was paid off.

And ... TJ at least is now living in Ellensburg and can walk to school from his new apartment. And there's a bus station in Pullman. And if there's a city where you only need to have one car, it's Moscow, the most walking friendly place on earth.

It's not ideal, but it is what it is.

And I'm sure in it all, there's a plan. God knows what he's doing. God needed TJ and his big U-haul to be on that road Friday night, to save the lives of that family. To act as a buffer.

It's not my plan, that's for sure. But I keep singing this stupid song from a Veggie Tales tape, "Josh and the Big Wall" : The Lord has given this land to us. No need to fuss. He knows what he's doing. We know that he will take care of us if we will follow him."

Here's to living in The Gap.