Free God Drives a Tow Truck by Vicky Kaseorg

their kindness, and pedaled onward, the empty road and endless fields glistening with evaporating rain drops.
    The rancher told us he would see us down the road, and followed us in his truck briefly before waving goodbye. We biked on, and an hour later, reached a small town, with one convenience store and a Western saloon. As we biked by, our new friend, the ex-rancher, came stumbling out of the saloon, and called out to us, his speech slurred. We waved, and continued on. A bit further down the road, he passed us in his truck, waving and honking.
    We waved again, and biked on. Miles later, another small town rose out of the emptiness. As we passed the dilapidated bar in that town, the rancher fell out of the door, and again called his greeting. He could barely stand up with drunkenness.
    It all struck me as pathetically sad. I didn’t believe in God at that time, and had no spiritual focus in my life. Nonetheless, I wondered how someone could have every material desire he had ever dreamed of, and still be so lost.
    “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity,” lamented King Solomon, touted in the Bible as the richest man who ever lived. He had stables filled with the finest horses, several beautiful wives, a gorgeous palace, a wonderful peaceful kingdom, all the delectable foods and exotic spices available from afar, and the most glorious clothes made by the most accomplished seamstress. Despite all this, he said, “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless , a chasing after the wind .” (Ecclesiastes 1:13-15)
    At that time in my life, I thought if I could just bicycle forever, I might find the fulfillment that I was sure was just around the next bend in the road. I was literally “chasing after the wind” that summer. I think God was trying to show me that everything I thought might bring happiness was emptiness, a palace in the middle of nowhere, with no purpose or meaning. I was riding thousands of miles and coming to understand it was bringing me no closer to contentment than millions of dollars had brought our poor rancher friend. It would be several years before I began to find the peace I now searched for on the road beyond the storm. But I think God was preparing my heart even then.
    Sometimes, we must gain everything we thought we wanted, before we can understand what it is we most need. Sometimes when God allows us to clutch the world, we discover our hands have closed around a puff of vapor. Sometimes we can ride three thousand miles and not understand that the journey takes us no closer to the one thing worth traveling towards. Wanderlust filled my heart not because I yearned to travel from home, but to find Home. I didn’t scorn the rancher- I pitied him, a kindred sufferer. I understood filling one’s life with everything except the one thing that would take away the emptiness.

 
     
     
    Chapter Thirteen
    The Cover Up
     
     
    Numbers 32: 23
    23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    I thought I had gotten away with it. The cover up had been perfect. No one ever suspected. Even I had forgotten about this grievous sin. However, now we stood, piling our belongings to be wrapped by the movers and my husband’s accusing finger pointed at the wall, with a hole ominously shaped in the perfect size and outline of my bottom.
    It had started innocently enough. I was forever moving furniture. Our house was decorated in Early Garage Sale style, and I believed that if I could just arrange it all more perfectly, I would be a contender for a Better Homes and Garden award. Some of my finer pieces had been snagged from the curb right before trash collection.
    My favorite piece of furniture had been built by my husband, Arvo. Our dining room table was constructed from a huge pickle barrel with a large round slab of wood on it. It was too short for barstools, but too tall