In the late fall of 1997, I purchased a used gulf cart for joy riding on the roads around our house in North East Tennessee. As I mentioned in the introduction to this section, my wife is totally blind while I have some remaining vision. Looking for a fun and safe form of recreation, we decided upon a gulf cart which we purchased from a Golfing supply company in Boone, North Carolina. It was a two seater painted white and baby blue with a plexiglass windshield and top which we later removed, it also came with plastic rain curtains which we soon discarded as they were full of mildew.
The roads in the mountain of Tennessee proved unsatisfactory for
driving, as the paved roads were narrow, hilly, and, on occasions,
filled with traffic. I preferred untraveled gravel roads as best
suited to my visual abilities.
In June of 1998, we moved to Frankfort, Michigan, a small community
in the upper part of the lower peninsula and found a house and
location inland from Lake Michigan about seventeen miles that
was ideal for driving our cart. Many unpaved, unimproved, “seasonal”
roads crisscross this area of the country that are ideal. By “seasonal”
I mean roads that are not snowplowed in winter and are seldom
maintained by the county road commission. Some of these roads
traverse through the state forests and seldom amount to more then
car tracks through the forests.
Several weeks after moving to Benzie county, I sallied fourth
in my trusty vehicle to explore the back roads. One delightfully
warm, sunny afternoon, in late September, before the leaves began
turning colors, I found myself five miles south of our home on
one of these seasonal roads enjoying the fall weather.
Feeling the need to examine a tree, I stopped, made a thorough
examination, then returned to the cart, being sure to buckle my
seat belt, and started the motor which worked fine but the cart
went nowhere very fast.
Try as often as I might, the transmission would not engage in
forward, even though the motor seemed to function fine. I had
a problem. While I could walk home, I did not want to leave the
cart in the woods least it be stolen or vandalized before I could
return with tools or someone who knew enough about motors to fix
the transmission.
Knowing nothing about engines, myself, and not having tools with
me, I turned off the motor and considered my options. Over the
last twenty years, the Lord has demonstrated to me and my wife
his willingness to bless us in practical ways when difficulties
arise, and this occasion definitely qualified as a difficulty.
I prayed and asked the Lord for help. Enumerating the possibilities,
I suggested he might send someone who could fix the cart or show
me how to repair it. Having offered my petition and confident
that he would answer, I sat there admiring the sunny afternoon
in the woods, waiting for him to do something.
About fifteen minutes passed and nothing happened. A thought occurred
that I dismissed as impractical, then five minutes later, it reoccurred.
The idea penetrated my dull mind that the Lord was offering a
suggestion, “start the cart in reverse,” he seemed to
be saying. In my wisdom, I dismissed this idea for if the cart
wouldn’t start in forward, certainly it wouldn’t start
in reverse, but as I had asked for divine wisdom, I took his suggested.
To my surprise and delight, the cart not only started in reverse
but the transmission engaged and I had to use the break to avoid
hitting a tree. For a fleeting moment, I thought I might drive
in reverse the five miles back home then the Lord suggested that
I could now start the cart in forward, which I did and was gratified
to discover that forward progress was now possible.
Praising the Lord at the top of my voice, I did not stop until
I got home. The transmission has not given any further problems
since then.
Praise the Lord.