God’s helping hands

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
(Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince)


“God, I’m longing for a soulmate…I had a job, I’m mature enough to have one, please God…” John was asking to God when He was in Manado North Sulawesi (Celebes). He was about 30 years old and had a job in Multi National Contractor Company and had assigned to handle the business in there. He met lots of beautiful natives, but none were ideal to get along with. Many days left, many prayers had lifted up but there’s no sign…

“Go home…you’ll find your wife there, my grandson” Grandma…! I was dreaming, God…is it Your answer? He dreamt his beloved passed away-grandma with white gown come and asked him to go home…someone was waiting for him. His grandma was very close to him but already passed away many years before he got a job. So God, it’s Your answer to my prayers…then he wrote a letter to his sister to find a wife for him, but he didn’t tell anyone about the dream. Miraculously, God opened the way for him to go home. John was called to go back to head office Jakarta. Then John prepared his reports and also hundred blank-wedding invitation cards with him to bring home to Solo, but…he still didn’t know about his would be wife…and the challenges were just begun!

Many incidents hampered his traveled home. The small Dakota airplane was broke down in Ujung Pandang South Sulawesi when he was in the way home to Jakarta from Manado. He had to take another airplane, but God was good when he started questioning again the prayer answer. He met a nice co-pilot who encouraged him about the plan, so he made his mind up. God had made a decision, God made the way… After turned in his reports to head office in Jakarta, he asked permission to go home Solo to see a girl whom would be his wife. Then he took a train to Solo, but again…the incident happened. The train jumped the rails in Secang, urged him to take a bus in the midst of the freezing night. The time was around two o’clock in the morning.

After two days rested, he then with his father went to Griyan Solo to meet a girl, whom his sister told him about. The girl Maria was an elementary teacher. John just got less than a week to know Maria before he had to go back to Jakarta for another duty. So after the meeting, they got in touched to know each other. In the first time, Maria didn’t accept his propose after knowing each other for a while. But John didn’t give up. He kept contact to Maria whilst he was in Jakarta. Prayers and prayers were lifted up to know what God’s plan…but no answer.

Before he was assigned back to Manado, he went back again to Solo and tried to propose Maria.

“It was an amazing time…God was good, He made miracle! He softened Maria’s heart” John said. Maria’s father agreed about the plan and so did her. John and Maria agreed to get married a week after for preparing the reception and her job transferred to Manado. “It took five weeks to know and marry her” John reminisced about his struggle to have a wife. So after he came back to Jakarta, John brought Maria to Manado. A year later, they went to Papua for another assignment. In this island, they were blessed with 6 children. After about eight years in there, they went back to Solo to raise the children.

God works in His way we can not see. He decides, He provides the way to fulfill His plans.

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Power of prayer

When situations work out, we often assume it’s a coincidence or the result of our own efforts. And sometimes it is. But answers also come because we pray.

Rangga and Reva were a couple. They were together in about four five years when this story - almost got them bad injured - happened. They were students in Jogjakarta, and stayed in boarding house. But because of they lived in Solo, 65km away from their college, they had to go home on Saturday and went back to Jogjakarta on Sunday afternoon or sometimes Monday morning…by motorbike.

It was in March, a rainy season for tropical country Indonesia. The weather sometimes unpredictable, one time it had hard rain but sometime it’s so hot. And as usual, they planned to go home on Saturday afternoon, but this time it’s different…

Reva was an active girl and joined groups, the Christian fellowship in her campus and also member of college’s choir. Rangga, he also an activist in his previous college’s Christian fellowship. In this week Reva got a heavy task load, so she had to finish them all before could go home on Saturday to see her family in Solo.

In this Saturday, the heavy rain covered Jogjakarta since morning until afternoon. The air was so humid and freeze, sometimes the fog covered the road. The time was about six in the evening when the rain stopped. The night was still young, but going home by motorbike in the evening was risky. The traffic Jogjakarta – Solo was always busy in the morning and evening, and in fact the road was under construction in that time. But they had to go home anyway…before they went on a ride, as usual; they lift a prayer for the protection whilst they’re on the road. Wearing jackets, helmets and shocks with sandals for the protection of freeze night, they started to ride home.

They were riding together, slowly…sometimes they sang to kill the time. For 65km far, usually it takes about 2 hours top by motorbike. The street was slippery and dangerous because of rain and under construction. Many bikers went home as well at that night and the traffic was busy. After they reach Prambanan, 30 km away from Jogjakarta, suddenly they slipped on a pile of sands before they fell in a whole…It was not seen before and dark in surrounds. The whole was about one meter square and fifteen centimeters depth; there was no sign about it.

“Are you okay honey?” Rangga asked Reva. “Yeah…I’m…I’m okay” she replied shaken. It’s very dangerous; the street was under construction but no sign for this big whole? Luckily, there were no other vehicles close to them when the incident happened. “Thanks God, we are okay…it just tore my blue jeans off” thanked Rangga to God for their safety. Then they ride home safely after the incident.


Another incident almost got them badly. It was the time when they went back to Jogjakarta after the weekend in Solo. Often, they went back on Sunday afternoon. But they were tired after doing their activity a whole day, so they plan to go in the next early morning.

Rangga picked up Reva around four fifteen in the morning. The dawn was not broken yet and it’s chilled after the rain a whole night before. “God please protects us, we need Your guardian Angel to lead us on the way” they prayed before they started the ride. With complete safety equipment, jackets, helmets and even shoes they went to ride. The road was not busy, but it’s so dark because they took the shortcut way than usual…and they both still sleepy!

“What happened?” Reva shouted at Rangga’s back after he shocked-turned the motorbike. “I almost hit the tractor behind us” he replied after they passed a huge field tractor. “Did you hear its roaring machine?” they both didn’t hear anything until only one meter ahead from the tractor’s tail. Feuh…almost! How can we don’t hear any sound? God, thanks for Your helping hands.


God will come on the right time…on the right place…on the right moment. He owns the time and the universe.

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