Friday, February 7, 2025

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Adventures With the Lord

Neil in his new truck.

By Amy Patsch

In 1987, when Neil and I first moved to New Jersey from the West Coast, Neil drove his used GMC truck loaded with his tool collection, our fragile belongings and houseplants under the truck canopy, on top of which he secured his lake boat. It was quite a sight. His sister Sharon agreed to travel with him on this moving adventure across the nation.

Somewhere around 2,000 miles into their journey the back axle broke, the tire passed them on the highway, and the truck abruptly came to rest at the side of the road. Some adventures are not exactly what you hoped they would be.

Thankfully my father and brother drove out to help Neil replace the axle – noting once again how good it is to have family. Our God is very gracious and faithful, as no one was injured and it did make for a story-filled adventure.

In 2025 Neil and I started out on another adventure in another well-used truck. We left Ocean City at 5 a.m. to travel to Albany, New York, to look at a newer used truck. Neil has been researching models on the internet for about a year. The dealership in Albany had a truck he liked available, and after several days on the phone and six hours of driving we pulled in and laid our eyes on The Truck.

We chatted with the sales manager and then the salesman, after which Neil got behind the wheel for a test drive. It was a beautiful truck – the color Cayenne Red, with lots of chrome. We determined to buy the truck, close on the deal, and get back on the road.

The manager needed to look over Neil’s trade-in before offering a price, and when buying used, the trade-in is the number negotiated. The figure presented was, of course, less than Neil had hoped for, but after some back and forth a slightly better number was reached and we were set to go.

We met with the finance manager, but even as we pulled out our title and checkbook he had an uncomfortable look on his face. He hesitantly explained there was an inspection that must be accomplished, as the truck needed to pass a strict New York emissions check on all its sensors, which, at the moment, were reading out of the bounds permitted. We should go enjoy some lunch.

It was after 3 p.m. when we got the word the truck was out on the road recalibrating the sensors, which would then be retested the next morning. We would need to stay overnight. By that time we were too tired to consider driving back anyway, so off to a hotel we went. When we left home that morning we thought we would close the deal within an hour of arrival, then start heading back. Ah, the best-laid plans…

The dealership was embarrassed that we had driven six hours and the truck was not ready, and as an apology they kindly upped the figure of Neil’s trade-in to make up for the delay – yet there was no guarantee the truck would pass the inspection in the morning.

It is wonderful how our God works, and both Neil and I know and understand the verse “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” This verse from James 1:17 assured us that if the truck passed inspection it was our good gift from God, and if the truck did not pass inspection that was our good gift from God. We would either get a healthy truck or be thankful to have avoided a bad one. God gives His children only good gifts.

The next morning it passed the inspection, and the truck was ready to go. We were on the road by 10:30, and Neil and I both cannot believe how fabulous his new ride is. God gave Neil a gorgeous truck well beyond our imaginations. There are so many extras on this vehicle – which will be Neil’s last – that we still are awestruck. God always makes our adventures exciting!

While traveling I read the Herald, which contained my column about our 47 years of marriage. I gave the paper to the salesman Michael because he had summered in Cape May as a child. This was a way of sharing our faith and devotion to God. Michael called Neil the next day to say he enjoyed the column so much he was passing it on to his sales manager, and he also stated that he was impressed with the newspaper itself. That brought me a smile! What a lovely way to end our God-blessed 2025 adventure.

Editor’s note: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.

Columnist

Amy Patsch writes religious and faith-based opinion content for the Cape May County Herald.

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