God Drives a Tow Truck Read Free Page A

In my dream, I was led to a white house with blue shutters, about a mile from our own. I could clearly see the route from my house to the distant one, on the outskirts of our neighborhood. A woman stood in front of the house, and in her arms was Frisky.
    I awoke to a still dark sky, the moon and stars not yet blotted by a rising sun. Everyone else in the house was still asleep. I heard my dad snoring.
    Running into my parent’s room, I cried, “I saw Frisky, I know where he is! Get up, get up, we have to hurry!!!!”
    “Where?” my mother asked drowsily.
    “In my dream. I know where to go. Hurry!”
    I was frantic as I waited for my mother to get dressed. I don’t know why she trusted me, but I don’t recall her complaining. However, she did not move as quickly as I wanted her to. Finally, I raced out the door, my mother gathering car keys and following me. The sun was rising. The day was warm. I pointed out the streets my mother was to drive on, and told her which way to turn at each corner. It had been such a long time now since my dream. Would the white house with the blue shutters be there? Would a woman holding my cat wait for us? I directed my mother, urging her to drive faster.
    “There, there!” I said.
    Mom pulled to the curb, and stopped the car in front of a white house with blue shutters. A woman was sweeping the driveway. It was the same woman I had seen in my dream. I rolled down my window.
    “Please,” I sputtered, “Have you seen a cat? A large brown tabby?”
    The woman raised her eyebrows and gasped. She leaned on her broom.
    “Why yes,” she said, “I kept him in the garage all night. I assumed he was lost when he wandered over. I fed him and was going to post signs today. But he was so upset and so anxious to leave that I finally let him out this morning. Just about a half hour ago.”
    A half hour ago! Exactly when I had seen him in my dream!
    “Which direction did he go?” asked my mother.
    The lady pointed down the street.
    “That way…he almost seemed like he knew where he was going. I just assumed he did.”
    “Thankyou,” said my mother. I could not speak.
    We drove around for another hour calling his name. He did not appear, and I never saw him again.
    Like all heartbreak, the ache subsided with time. With the perspective of years, I see the loss of Frisky was a blessing, in one respect. My dad’s asthma went away, along with the cat.
    But I wondered why God had sent me the dream. It was not a comfort to have come so close, only to lose Frisky again. However, maybe He had a lesson more important than the return of my cat. Perhaps He was teaching me a truth that would one day pave the way to my eternal happiness. I think He was urging me to believe that He does speak, He does direct, and if I am open to hear His promptings, I will find what I am seeking. But I cannot wait. I learned that when God points the way, do not pause. Sometimes the window of opportunity is slammed shut on those who hesitate.
    I became a Christian many years later, and I pored over the Biblical references to animals. I saw nothing to dissuade me from the hope that when I got to Heaven, my fat brown tabby cat would be sitting next to a heavenly Blue Jay nest, waiting for me to come open some heavenly window. I suspect that even in Heaven, he will not be able to resist stalking them.

 
     
     
    Chapter Four
    A Horse Named Joe
     
     
    1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    I swallowed hard, my little pigtails shaking, and in my tremulous, nine year old voice, squeaked, “Will you let me work here? I will do any work you need if you will let me be near the horses.” This was perhaps the longest speech I had ever dared utter to an adult and it took every quivering ounce of courage I had.
    When I was nine years old, we moved again, this time to Illinois, and I was forced to leave my wonderful driftwood that looked