I returned to camp just before six and very hungry. I just drank coffee all day and secretly ate from a bag of trail-mix, concealed in my backpack. I wasn't feeling all too Big Macky, this day, or "up to par," mentally or spiritually. It happens.
I started to make a sandwich with the rest of the summer sausage and received a text from Vera that the package I mailed to lighten my load, had arrived. It sounded as though it must have been opened, as I had hoped, because Jeffrey was having a field day with some of the items!
I texted back that I now had minutes on my Obama phone and would call soon, after I ate and warmed my hands, so as to be able to dial.
Vera and I talked first and for quite a while, her updating me on Jeffrey new skills on his bicycle! Dad's love to hear that sort of thing, especially when they feel kinda down. It was a great conversation and an encouraging one.
Then I got Jeffrey. The entire call was 50 minutes and not a bit of it was wasted!
He seemed most interested in the package that had arrived. He said he saw it and thought it was something from Amazon and opened it! He scattered the items out and true to Jeffrey style, was most interested in the books and the machete.
We ended the conversation, shorter than either of us wanted.
"Well, I hate to but I better let you go, so I'll have minutes to call you again. I love you!"
"More, dad. I love you more!"
"Impossible! I love you most!"
"No dad. I love you more!"
"Okay, bye. I love you."
"More, dad! Bye!"
I finally heard the click, dad's hate, after several more "Mores!"
I felt good, then. I felt GREAT. I felt wonderful.
Everything felt warm, now. Inside and out.
I wasn't sure what to do, then. It was dark but early, still. I thought maybe I would just pray and try to sleep and if I couldn't, I thought maybe I would go back for wifi.
Some of you may remember, when I first camped in this spot, about three weeks ago, a couple of men showed up the first morning and checked me out, as their business "next door" had been broken into and several thousand dollars worth of tools taken. I often wondered what had become of that mess and while walking around the woods, I always had a mind to look for clues or evidence. I was always careful not to walk too close to the business "next door" while walking and be suspect, or have my picture taken by their security cameras.
Just to stall sleeping too early, I walked about thirty feet behind my camp and into the field, where the big ditch is, to look for deer. I didn't see any but thought I heard that cute little laugh that raccoon's make. I walked along the ditch for a couple hundred feet and returned to camp, crawling into the sleeping bag.
I said my prayers and then had a long conversation with The Lord, which are also prayers.
I didn't understand my situation and that's okay, that's what prayer is all about, sometimes.
It's not that my faith was lacking or any of that. I just felt like I was being blocked by something. I couldn't help but wonder if I had missed something. Something I had failed to do, or failed to see, perhaps. I just didn't know.
I had been told of work, here and there. It would be hard to get those regular jobs, living as I was and leaving my gear alone in the woods, was undesirable.
I made a plan as much as I could. I kept it simple, as I should. If God wanted to change it, I knew He would.
I planned to get up early and while it was rainy, I would walk the three miles to the store for water and food that were getting low. I thought I would apply to the t-shirt company I had heard about and stop at a mulching place I had walked by a few times. I know my mulch, after all. If none of this produced fruit, I would hitch-hike while it cleared up, then on Wednesday also and if that failed I would seek refuge under the nearby bridge while it rained and hop on a freight train, as it passed under.
I was completely willing for God to change any, or all of this. It was all okay to me but I prayed hard that He would lead me in some sort of direction, any direction. The waiting was getting difficult, as important as it is.
AMEN!
I slept well, only waking a couple of times, as the airport jets passed over.
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I awoke around eight and had the usual two cups of, you guessed it, cold coffee. After the first, I already felt mysteriously good. In fact I felt suspiciously good....
I did some other morning things and donning my sweet, new rain-jacket, I headed off for the mulching place. It was two places past where the tools had been stolen.
I walked into the yard, the sign read "Ken-Mulch." I saw many of my favorite toys. Loader, backhoe and dump trucks, among others. There were different bins of landscaping stones and an intriguing pole barn with various plants, hanging around and others just sitting there.
At the glass door, I could see two ladies inside, suddenly aware of my entrance, as I pushed it open.
They greeted me sweetly and with seeming curiosity, or maybe that was just my perception.
I didn't really know how to start the conversation but I didn't need to.
They smilingly said "Hello, may we help you?"
The woman seated behind the desk was a beautiful lady, perhaps around 70, with that "twinkle" that only comes from having seen everything and still loving life.
The woman standing behind the other desk was also lovely, perhaps a little older than me and possessing the same "twinkle."
"Well this may seem like an odd question. I'm travelling from Maine, down to Florida and I was hoping to find a day, or two, or even more of work to help me out. I can run equipment, if you need but really you can give me any sort of work that you'd rather not do and I'll be grateful to do it."
They introduced themselves and the younger of the two, Tama, asked "What part of Maine, are you from?"
"A little south of Augusta, in a town named Gardiner"
"Oh, I don't know that one but I've been to Lewiston."
A short side conversation ensued about Lewiston and not a bad one, as you may suspect.
"Well, where you going in Florida?" she asked.
"A little east of Jacksonville, is a place called Amelia Island and my son lives there, with his mother."
"Oh, yes. We know it."
"Really? You know of it?" I didn't think it was very well known.
"Oh, yes. We live down there, sometimes."
A short side conversation started about "The Island" and it was a good one, as you would suspect.
They shortly turned the conversation back to the question at hand, work.
"I really wasn't sure about work around here, I've heard there is a lot but I'm actually camped in the woods, down the road. I'm on my way to Wal-Mart for some food and I just left it all up to God this morning in my prayer,s that I may find something." I shyly confessed.
"Did you say that your camped in the woods?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Well, we looked for you one day and you were gone." the older lady, Mary Lou, stunned me with.
"You looked for me? I don't understand."
"Yes, we wanted to take you to lunch. My boys met you camped there, after their tools were stolen." The twinkle seemed much brighter!
The younger lady came close to me "We are Christians too, and we believe The Lord brought you here for a reason."
"Do you think we could use this man to rip out all that carpet at the house?" she asked Mary Lou.
"Oh,that's a great idea!" said twinkle eyes.
"That's just the sort of work, I was hoping for!"
"Well, the boys are out now, running some errands and then getting some lunch. Would you rather have Wendy's, instead of going to Wal-Mart?"
"Oh, yes. Any day!"
"We have some pie for dessert, too" she motioned to three pies, on the counter.
The "boys" showed up with bags of food and we all dug in.
I became re-acquainted with "the boys," Mike and Ross, or as Ross would have me say, Ross and Mike.
Soon, Ross and Tama, brought me to the job and gave me a razor knife and instructed me how to do the job, cutting strips of carpet and putting it into trash bags, informing me that they would have a dumpster arrive the next morning and that they would be back, soon. I got to work and they left, saying they would return, soon.
I was determined to have it done before they returned. I wanted them to know I am a hard worker and they could trust me, alone.
I shredded that floor up! I was a whirlwind of joy and I had remind myself to be mindful of the windmilling new razor!
After a couple of hours, the younger lady returned and I wasn't done but I thought they would be happy with all the progress. Ross was elsewhere but another man was with her and she introduced him as a landlord. He gave me a book to read, by Robert Schuller, called "Tough Times Never Last, but Tough People Do."
She called Ross and told him that I am a great worker and that I had done far more than expected, as I had swept the rooms, after tearing the carpet out. I was happy, that they were happy.
We talked about some various things and I mentioned that I had looked in the shed, out back for a trash barrel to help with debris.
"You know, I don't see any reason you couldn't clean that shed out and sleep in there. Just don't tell anybody. You wouldn't be hurting anything and it has to be better than sleeping in the woods!"
I contemplated it. She was right. I still planned to sleep in my spot but maybe the next day, if there was work......
They soon left and said they'd be back soon.
The middle room was the living room. The carpet needed to come out of it, also. The new carpet rolls were sitting in the middle of it, on pallets. It was a 2 man job. They were large and heavy. I wasn't sure I could do it but I was determined.
I wrestled out the pallets and placed them in the kitchen, where there was a linoleum floor. I struggled with the rolls and got most of them in place. The second to last was very heavy and I had to lift it up higher to get it in place. It really strained me and then the last one was even heavier. I got half of it on and lifted the back end higher, so it was bending. I kicked it, shoved it, sweated on it, probably cussed and prayed it into place but I got it. I felt the old familiar tugging of my hernia, repaired years ago, but reminding me, with a groan, that I may not have heard the last of him.
I went back to my windmill approach and as I was finishing the last room Ross and Mike, or as Mike would have me say, Mike and Ross returned.
They walked in and the first thing Mike said was "How in the world did you move those rolls of carpet?"
I kinda chuckled and just said "Well, God had the heavy end, I think!"
He laughed, repeating what I had said.
We talked and did some small stuff. They made a list of things I would need for the next days work.
"The next days work?" I thought to myself. "It sounds like I'll be back!"
They eventually went off to Home Depot, for the items needed and I began working on pulling up all the carpet tack strips.
Perhaps an hour went by and Ross returned with "Twinkle Eyes."
She brought me half a cheesecake, some apples and some candy bars, placing them on the counter and then set down a 20 dollar bill, beside it.
"Now, that's not for your wages today, that's just for your meals."
I was overwhelmed. It would have been easy to cry, right then. I didn't but I had to tell her "Ma'am you folks have so blessed me!"
"You have blessed us, Jeff!"
Her eyes twinkled even more.
Ross said "Jeff, we think you should stay here, tonight."
"You mean inside, here?"
"Absolutely. Here's the key."
"Well. Thank you. Is it okay to pick up my camp and bring my pack back?"
"Absolutely."
"Do you think it would be okay for me to go eat at McDonald's. I'd really like to write about this day."
"Absolutely. Do whatever you'd like and we'll see you in the morning! You seem mechanically inclined, so if you'd like you could get the hot water heater going and have hot water."
"I will gratefully do that, Sir!"
They left with good-byes and soon after I ate a couple of apples and thanked the Good Lord, for putting me on the right track.
So you see why I must be going. I really want a shower!
And you see why, although I so appreciate all the offers of money, from many different people to "Take a bus and go, man, go!" If I had taken that advice and the offers, I would not have had this Godly experience. I would be somewhere else, wondering what I was doing there, floundering in the flesh.
I really must go, now. Well, maybe one more coffee.....
I love following you this is so amazing
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