God used the experience with Jamie Coulter to teach us some "basics" and help strengthen us for the
journey that lay ahead. We had no idea where He was going to take us. 1 Peter 1:7 tells us He will put
us through the fire to burn off the impurities, so that we come out perfect in Him on the other side. Our
next test of faith came when James had to sign over the parental rights of his son to his former in-laws,
so that he could attend school in the county in which they lived. It was an "Abraham asked to sacrifice
Isaac" scenario. Up until then, they had been the perfect hosts, letting us stay there while we figured
out what direction God wanted us to go next. Little did we know that God would use them to move us
along. After our car died that mid-December, they asked us to leave their house. On Christmas Eve,
we walked out with the clothes on our back, our computer, our bibles, and a few essentials in a small
backpack. We spent that first night in Azalea Park in Summerville. And it was cold. (That first night was
spent on a bench just past the end of this bridge. Little did I know that the photos I took earlier that
year would help tell our story over four years later.)
God used an 82 year old, partially paralyzed woman, that had problems with her 30+ year old furnace,
to house us over the holidays. It was not putting out any heat, so James looked at it, to see if there was
anything he could do. There was evidence of a fire where exposed wires had touched metal and
sparked. She called in a heating and air repairman, who said that he had seen houses burn down from
furnaces with less damage. Later, we learned that she had told her daughter and son-in-law about the
funny smell that had permeated the house a few days before, but they had evidently had not taken her
seriously. She told everyone that the Lord had brought us there to save her life, because He knew
the source of the problem. Only God knew the severity of the potential situation, and our part in it.
But, what is also true is that, had a fire started at night, with the location of the furnace being in the
hall, she would not have made it out. There were no exit doors on the end of the house where her
bedroom was located and, being paralyzed in her right leg, she depended on a walker to get around. All
we know is that God has us at the right place at the right time.
From there, we were taken to a vacant, unfurnished parsonage by a deacon of the church we had been
attending. He dropped us off, leaving us out in the middle of nowhere with no food, and with no plans
as to what would happen next. The place had power and water, and two pillows and two อก