The engine struggled, but refused to start. “No, no, no, not now!” Anne pounded the steering wheel with a first. She was due to speak at a women’s seminar this afternoon. She sent up a prayer. “God, please fix my car. You know it’s important for me to be at church.” She tried again, but all the engine gave her was a series of clicks. She blew out a breath and unfastened her seatbelt.

She stepped out of the car and pulled out her phone. She dialed Margie, the woman coordinating the afternoon’s event.

“Margie, I don’t want to add to your stress today, but my car won’t start. I’m not sure what time I’ll be able to get there.”

“Oh, wow. I’m sorry to hear that. Are you still at home?”

“Yes, thankfully, I’m not on the side of the road somewhere. Is there anyone coming today from my direction? I’m west of the city.”

Margie paused for a moment. “The only people I know of from out in your direction are Sarah and Patricia and they’re already here, setting up the refreshments. Why don’t you call for a ride and one of them can take you home afterwards?”

“OK. I’ll do my best to get there on time. But if not….”

“If not, God will provide.”

“Right. Thanks. I better call for a ride.”

Anne hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment. She mentally scrolled through her calendar. After the women’s seminar this afternoon, she needed to stop at the grocery store, and then pick up the supplies for work tomorrow morning. She really needed her car. Maybe it would be best to wait for the auto service. They were usually pretty fast. If they got here within the next 45 minutes, she’d still have time to make it to the second half of the seminar. Pulling out her membership card, she called for them to come and check out her battery.

After hanging up, Anne leaned against her car and closed her eyes. “God, I don’t understand. Why would you let my battery die just when I was about to speak to a church full of women about You?” Maybe God wanted to teach her patience or to show her how He’d work things out. Yes. This must be a test of faith. Of course. God would get the auto guy here in record time and she’d have a great story to tell the ladies today.

She glanced at the app. The estimated time of arrival was in 35 minutes. Perfect. Confident God was teaching her patience and she’d learned her lesson, Anne glanced over to her neighbor’s yard where Collette sat on the porch. There was enough time to visit. She crossed over to Collette’s yard.

Collete glanced up at her approach. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Do you want to come sit with me?”

Anne settled into the porch chair across from Collette. “Yes, I’ve been busy. Jeremy’s company is establishing a new branch overseas, so I’ve been taking care of everything around here in between work and church activities.”

Collette’s eyes filled with tears. “Is it very hard to take care of the house on your own?”

Anne studied Collette’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

Collette’s lower lip trembled. “Reggie moved out last week. He met someone else.”

Anne’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, Collette. I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Do you want to talk about it?”

For the next thirty minutes, Collette poured out her heart. “And as much as I’m heartbroken over Reggie, I also have no idea how I’ll be able to afford to keep the house. I love it here, and I want the kids to have a familiar place when they come home from college, but there’s a lot of maintenance and it’s expensive.”

An idea came to mind. “What about renting out the basement as an apartment? It has its own entrance, and with the small kitchen and bathroom down there, it has everything a person could need.”

Collette shrugged. “I guess, but it would have to be someone I trusted. I wouldn’t feel safe having a stranger live down there. And I don’t know anyone who’s looking for a place.”

“We’ll pray God will provide just the right person. Preferably someone who’s handy.”

A moment later, Anne’s phone buzzed with a notification. She glanced at it. “The auto service guy will be here in a couple of minutes.”

Collette raised her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with your car?”

“I think the battery died. I was supposed to go to church this afternoon.”

Collette squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you didn’t. Talking to you has made me feel a little better.”

Anne’s heart lifted. “Can I pray for you?”

Collette nodded. “Of course.”

Anne closed her eyes. “God, thank You for this time together. Please be with Collette during this difficult time. Please help her truly understand how much You love her. Please give her strength and show her a way to take care of the house, both physically and financially.”

The sound of tires crunching on gravel drew her attention and she wrapped up the prayer. She opened her eyes to see a young man stepping out of a truck in her driveway.

“I’ve got to get over there.”

Collette’s eyes widened. “Is that Michael?”

Anne studied the young man’s face as she rose from her seat. “I think it is.” She hurried to meet him.

“Michael?”

The young man grinned at her. “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Richards. I recognized the address when it came up. How have you been? How’s Alex?”

“We’re good. Alex will graduate in a few months. I didn’t think you still lived around here since your parents moved to Florida.”

Collete joined them and Michael gave her a side armed hug. “Hey, Mrs. Smith. How’s Abbie? Guess she’s about to graduate, too.”

“She’s good. You didn’t move with your parents?”

“Nah, Florida is too hot for me. This will always be home. Even though a bunch of my friends went off to college, I love working for the auto service. I love fixing things. The only problem is, my parents have a buyer for the house now, so I need to find an apartment fast. I wish there was something around here, but everything is so expensive.”

Anne’s heart filled with joy at God’s timing. “So you’d like to live in an apartment near here and you love fixing things?” She flashed a smile at Collette. “I think we just might have a solution for you.”

Collette stared at Anne. “I think we do. Do your prayers always get answered so fast?”

Isaiah 55:8-9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God, sometimes you close doors in order to open other ones. Thank you for arranging circumstances in our lives to work together for Your good. Sometimes it’s more important to take care of one neighbor than to speak to a church of hundreds. You are the God of small details. Thank You for caring so deeply about our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.