August 26-My First Day Canvassing in Minnesota

"Are you canvassing today?" my mom asked me.  "I don’t know yet, I think I should but I don’t feel like I am ready to start" I replied.  After lunch I got my laptop and pulled up Google earth looking at the nearby towns for a place to canvass.  I had an idea of the town I would work and started looking in that direction.  As I looked a little town caught my eye.  I zoomed in on it and saw a road going out of town with some houses on it, "I could canvass the houses on that road too since the town is so small", I thought to myself.  "Where do you think you’re going to canvass?" my mom asked me.  "Holt, I think", I replied.  "I have never heard of that town" she said.  "I think I should canvass this country road called Old Ridge Road" I said, "but it is further away than I wanted to drive today."  "Well don’t take too long to decide", she counseled.  I went to a private room and prayed that God would lead me to the right place where He wanted me to work that afternoon.  I have always had a hard time making decisions and after canvassing all summer under canvassing leaders who decided where to take us and told me which roads to work I had not been looking forward to having to make those decisions myself.  "That little town and Old Ridge Road was the first place I found and thought I should canvass there so that must be where God wants me to go" I concluded. 

When I got to the town the population was only 88!  "Wow this is so small!" I thought.  "I wonder why God brought me here!"  "I sure drove a long way to come to such a small town!"  I began to work.  I canvassed the whole town without selling any mega books.  "Well Lord, I don’t know why you brought me here", I prayed.  I started to walk back to my car.  There was a business that looked interesting across from where I had parked and so even though it was Sunday and the business was closed my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to go take a look at what was over there.  When I got there I noticed a house at a fork in the road and the road turned into gravel.  "I should go to that house since I’m right here" I said to myself.  As I walked over to the house I noticed the road sign, it read: Old Ridge Road!  "Why that is the country road I saw on Google earth that I was supposed to canvass!"  I went up to the door and knocked.  An elderly man came to the door and invited me in.  He offered me a chair at the kitchen table, we sat down and I canvassed him on a couple books then we started visiting.  He began to open up to me and share the difficult things he was going through in his life.  He said that his daughter had committed suicide just months before.  He was also just recovering from a heart attack and heart surgery.  He said he had just been telling his sister two days ago how he did not know how much more he could handle.  "Her take on it is that God will not allow more trails than we can bear" he said.  I opened up one of the books I was carrying, Peace Above the Storm, in search of a quote; I found this one and read it to him:  “The trial will not exceed the strength that shall be given us to bear it.”  After I finished reading the quote he said “How much do you want for that book? I want it!”  He bought it and I was able to have a prayer with him, and he was evidently touched. 

As I walked out of the house I was in awe of what the Lord had just done and how He had used me in spite of my unworthiness!  God had just worked a modern day miracle!  He had not only led me to canvass that day, not only led me to what town to work but to the exact road the man lived on at just the time he would be home!  And then he led me to find just the quote he needed to be encouraged by!  The experience was a confirmation to me that even when I don’t know what decision to make the Lord can use me and direct my steps.  I am reminded of the Bible story in Acts where the Holy Spirit led Philip to talk to the Ethiopian man, and all I can say is that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!  Praise the Lord for how He works!  God is so good!  I love the canvassing work!