For those of you who don’t know, Lindsie and I have been walking up a lot of hills the past couple of days.
See, we were going through the Sierras, and since we had to go UP the Sierras in order to get OVER the Sierras, we’ve done lots of climbing lately. And when you’re pushing a 90+ pound cart in front of you, going up mountains isn’t exactly the fun part of the journey.
Anyway, as we were getting ready to push our carts up and over the steepest part of this area, Echo Summit, we ran into our friend and cross-country walk mentor Nate Damm along Highway 50. We thought Nate had gone up and over the mountains (and Echo Summit) just like we were about to do. Our mistake was not actually asking him if he’d done that, but simply assuming that he did.
Nate quickly let us know that he had been fortunate enough to have car support for this specific leg of his journey. He had friends who would drive his cart up over major hills (like Echo Summit) and then he’d just walk up by himself, catch up to his stuff, and push it along again until the next major hill, when his car support would drive it over again. Nate also mentioned that he wouldn’t have been comfortable trying to push his cart up/along Echo Summit even if he hadn’t had car support.
Lindsie and I, unfortunately, didn’t have car support, or even any similar options, really. We hadn’t even considered car support and we were only about a half day’s walk from Echo Summit. So we were stressing a little bit.
After Nate left, we contemplated what we would do. We were pretty worn out, and we’d just found out that our strategy was shot to holes. It was getting to be early afternoon, and we both felt like the wind had been taken out of our sales.
So we prayed. We asked God to help us find a solution, and we asked him to open people’s hearts to offer us help. Lindsie went so far as to actually pray for God to send us a vehicle directly that would provide us with car support. 
And, somewhat surprisingly (and at the same time not surprisingly at all), a red truck pulled up less than 5 minutes after we’d finished praying.
It belonged to Mike and Patti O’Brien, and they were wondering if we were ok. We’d been waiting in a turnoff by the side of the road for nearly an hour and a half (thanks to Lindsie’s constant desire to nap and our meeting with Nate), and they were afraid we’d broken a wheel or popped a tire.
Lindsie explained our situation. We were just hoping for someone who could drive our stuff over Echo Summit and to the KOA Campground on the other side so we wouldn’t have to push it over ourselves.
Our jaws dropped when Mike and Patti said they’d be happy to help us out. And help us they did. We loaded up the carts, drove them to the KOA, and then they dropped us back off where we’d started from so we wouldn’t have to skip even a single step on our walk.
We could write pages about how thankful we are for Mike and Patti’s generosity and eagerness to help. They certainly deserve it. But at the same time, we want to make sure God gets as much credit as possible. One minute we’re sitting on the side of the road, feeling like we’ll never find a safe and clear cut way to make it over Echo Summit, and the next minute, after a heartfelt prayer, we find ourselves with road angels pulling up to help us.
It’s amazing what happens when you ask God for help. No matter the size and scope of the help you need, God will provide it one way or another if you just ask. We’ve seen it happen multiple times on this trip, and we’re only 3 weeks in. We can’t wait to see the other ways God jumps in and takes charge for us when we need Him most. It seems like he’s just up there in heaven waiting for us to ask.
In fact, Matthew 7:7 essentially says the same thing:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 21:22 says,
You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.
And finally, John 14:13-14 says,
You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
If that’s not reassuring, we don’t know what is.
So what is it that you need help with in your own life? Have you prayed about it yet? If not, we encourage you to give it a try. If you have prayed about it, we encourage you to keep praying. God works wonders when you just let him. Also, let us know if we can be praying for you, either through a comment on the blog or through an email if it’s something more personal. We have hours (and hours and hours) of walking with not much else to do, so we’re happy to pray if you have any prayer requests.
It’s the least we can do after all of the encouragement and support we’ve received.
Thanks so much, everyone, and we look forward to sharing more news with you soon.
-Mike and Linds
July 7, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Amazing, wonderful & encouraging even for those on flat land! Thanx for the blogs…..I love reading them! Praying for you, Elaine
July 9, 2012 at 8:59 am
Thanks, Elaine. Glad to know you’re enjoying them. We plan to keep ’em coming, rain or shine (assuming we have wi-fi to post them, obviously), so hopefully you continue to love reading them. We appreciate the prayers so much too.
July 8, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Such an encouraging reminder. I surprisingly-often forget that I can ask God for help. Sometimes I ask for strength to do something myself instead of daring to ask God to accomplish it for me. So, thanks for speaking truth and for sharing how God has been glorifying himself in your walk. Keep marching on!
July 9, 2012 at 9:01 am
That’s exactly how we’ve felt, Deanna. Every time we’ve just said, “It’s up to you, God,” He’s come through in some way or another, and it has always worked out for us. Our hope is that, the longer we’re on this walk, the more we’ll grow to rely on Him for anything and everything. It has paid off so far, to say the least. Glad we could provide some encouragement and we appreciate your support and your comments/interaction on the blog!
July 9, 2012 at 8:09 am
We almost didn’t recognize Nate….he still had short hair when he went through here….:) Glad you are getting many of your needs met through Heaven via some earthbound trail angels. Safe journey and Godspeed.
July 9, 2012 at 9:02 am
Well we were napping when he walked up, so we almost missed him entirely ourselves! 🙂
We are incredibly thankful for the trail/road angels we keep coming across and we really look forward to meeting more throughout the rest of our journey. So many blessings and we’re just getting started. Thanks for the comment and encouragement, Sharon!
July 9, 2012 at 9:06 am
Praise the Lord….I have enjoyed reading about your journey, but this is the first time I have written. God is so good…..I really needed to read this today. Thanks so much for sharing your journey and story. Praying for you two.
July 9, 2012 at 9:12 am
Hey Melody, thanks for taking the time to comment. We’re thankful we could share it when you needed it. The whole point of this journey is to share the Lord and the Word with people and let them know how both impact our lives every day, so it’s always a blessing to know that what we’re doing can make a difference. We’re glad to know you’re following along and we hope you’ll continue to jump in and comment if you feel inspired to do so. We appreciate the prayers, and don’t be afraid to let us know if there’s anything we can pray for you for as well!