Trusting in the Lord: Carpet Miracle

Excerpt from Those who Trust in the Lord shall not be Disappointed by: Peggy Joyce Ruth

Carpet Miracle: "Those big ugly Purple spots!"

When it came time to think about carpet we thought we had met our Waterloo. We knew we were to pay as we went and avoid debt at all cost, but we needed 500 yards of carpet. That seemed like a huge amount to me. I knew the kind of long wearing carpet I wanted, so I had been searching for almost a year in advance, and just about the time I was ready to give up in defeat, a little carpet place went into business and decided to do us a favor. They ordered samples of discontinued carpet from a carpet mill in Georgia, assuring me that the carpet was discontinued, top quality—not seconds.

When I got the samples, there it was—the exact carpet and color that I wanted—for precisely one-fifth the price. I still have to look at the invoice from time to time to believe it!

About six months before it would be needed, four big rolls of carpet covered in white protective canvas were delivered to our door. Of course, I couldn’t open a roll because of all the construction debris, but I pulled back the canvas just far enough to see that they had sent the right carpet. It was even more beautiful than I had remembered. I was puzzled at the fact that they had sent 550 yards instead of the 500 we had ordered.

Months later the big day finally came for us to lay the carpet, and Jack insisted that we hire a Christian father-son team, even though we didn’t know them personally, and their bid was a good bit higher than the rest.

Outside work allowed us to give them free run of the house, and I had determined not to even take a peek inside until it was finished. Excitement was running high, so you can imagine how I could think they were kidding with me when one of them came out to say, "Did you know that the carpet has big purple spots in it?" One look at the exposed roll of carpet in the large den floor let me know, however, that he was not joking with us.

I remember biting down hard on my lower lip to keep the tears from flowing. He must have seen my panic because he quickly assured me that I didn’t have anything to worry about—that the carpet mill would have no dispute about replacing the defective merchandise.

What he didn’t know was that during the last six months the local carpet company had gone out of business, and the owners had moved out of town, leaving no forwarding address. There was also no name of the carpet mill from which the carpet had been purchased! We had the carpet—they had their money—we never anticipated a problem!

All Jack could think to do was to tell the two carpet layers to come back the next day, and we would come up with a plan. We started quoting, through tears at first, "Lord, I refuse to quit trusting you. I don’t care how hopeless this situation appears to be, You have promised that we will not be disappointed if we trust You."

I had secretly expected the men not to return, but bright and early the next morning there they were. Jack simply said, "I am trusting that God will give you an answer to this dilemma." It had become obvious why God had impressed us to get the Christian team, even though they had submitted a higher bid. Instead of walking out they took the challenge, and, after an hour of serious deliberation, started measuring every square inch of the house.

Out of the four rolls of carpet one roll had to be flawless for their plan to work. Laying the measurements of halls, stairs, rooms, closets… out on the carpet, much like you would lay pattern pieces on a piece of material, they shifted the measurements until the pieces miraculously steered clear of all the purple spots. But as each new roll of carpet was opened and found to be full of those dreaded spots, anxiety mounted. Remembering that we had to have one perfect roll for the large den area, I don’t think any one of us was breathing as the fourth roll was being uncurled.

When that last roll turned out to be flawless, it was several minutes before anyone in the room said a word. We were all speechless! Then everyone in unison, including the carpet layers, let out a shout that I’m sure you could have heard a mile down the road.

It took all 550 yards of carpet! The 500 yards we ordered would not have been enough. God is an awesome God!

There were times when sight was so strong in the negative that it was like pulling flesh off our bones to steadfastly determine—Lord, I am trusting you, and I will not be disappointed. Our mind was screaming, "Lord, how can it work out?" But that is really none of our business. Working it out is God’s department. Our part is to choose to trust Him, fulfill any point of obedience and refuse to allow the disappointment to come in. His Part is bringing it to pass, and we were never able to guess how He was going to do it, but the one thing we could count on was that the trusting had to come first every single time.

© 2006, Peggy Joyce Ruth

Book Excerpt: see recommendation of this Trust book by Captain Thomas Bond, US NAVY in Psalm 91 Military book (page 162 paperback).

http://www.peggyjoyeruth.org