It was close to winter and the ground was muddy and soft. My motor home was sitting safely on a pod of pebbles, pretty much out in a field (but we do have electricity, water and sewer). We were almost out of propane, which keeps our home warm, provides heat for our water (showers, baths, washing the dog), and fuel for our cooking. The propane container cannot be detached. I prayed and flipped a coin before God about whether I should attempt go get propane (which involves taking the motor home into Corydon and filling the tank up). I got a "Yes." "Which way should I drive out?" was my next question. God revealed, through a coin toss, that I should back out, then pull forward, and travel across the grass to the drive.

I said one last prayer before I put the thing in gear, and I backed up…and got stuck! My face flushed red and I felt abandoned by God, betrayed even. I had to call Good Sam emergency service and eventually someone came who winched me back onto my space. Why did God say it was okay for me to go get propane? One of the service people who came to pull the motor home back onto the space, felt confident I could drive forward and get into town. He said the ground was solid enough. Why didn't God tell me that, if it was true? What good came out of me having to be pulled back onto my space, propaneless? (Of course, I don't know that I wouldn't have gotten just as stuck, had I pulled forward, but I was in a pitiful frame of mind.)

The failure to get propane brought up disappointment in Eva and me. However, I decided to continue to trust God and go to Him with this series of events and feelings. I laid it all before Him and humbly knew He is awesome and mighty and with Him, all is possible—including getting our propane!

I made some calls and found out that there is a device called a "Stay-Awhile" that enables people to use portable propane tanks when they are parked at a facility for an extended time. It is commonly installed by the consumer. It costs $50.00 and I had Eva pick one up on her way home. Together my neighbor and I installed it. God DID come through with the inspiration to pursue whether something like this existed that could be easily installed. I went to the propane suppliers yesterday and refilled my propane tanks, plus borrowed another tank, so that I would have plenty for both the pullable RV and our motor home.

The Nature of God: Later, while in prayer I recalled that I asked God if I should get propane for my motor home. The answer was, of course, yes (because I was nearly out). But He never said I should take the motor home into Corydon. The rest of His answer probably would have been, “But don't take the motor home out or you'll get stuck in the mud. I will inspire you to find a way.” I actually should never have asked the 2nd question which was, “Do I drive the motor home out by going forward or do I back out?” The actual answer was “neither.” He did not want me to drive the motor home. “Neither” was not a choice I had given with my heads or tails, so God was unable to communicate the truth to me through this method—even though my faith in Him was high. Do we ever restrict God's answer because we “know” so much? It's a good question and deserves a prayerful and honest response. We should never blame God, who finds Himself constantly attempting only the highest and best communications with His fallen children, only to find we thwart His answers by our preoccupation with the world, or, due to our own stubbornness in which we insist that WE have the truth and are the way and the life as well. It is very easy to blame the Messenger when things go wrong—but God is never wrong and for all of us who love Him and trust Him, He will get His will through to us and His answer will be received.

The Moravians' method of drawing lots was to have, in addition to the Yes and No lots, a blank one. If the blank lot was drawn, it meant that the question was phrased wrong, or there was more to it, or the timing was not right to ask the question. When I ask God, by coin toss, if it is okay to ask Him about something, this allows Him to answer with a No. When we ask if it is okay to ask a question, we are giving more leeway to the Lord and adding the equivalent of a blank lot into the coin tossing procedure. This may help alleviate communication failures like the one I had in this lot casting sequence.

I must continue to remember that God's ways are not my ways and His thoughts are higher than mine. I've recorded many stories in this book of how communication falters between God and myself, when I assume that the train of thought, in which I am going, is correct. It may not be in line with what God is trying to tell me at all. There are limitations to prayerfully tossing a coin before God. I have found that a majority of the time, when a simple answer is needed, it works wonderfully. But, under more complex situations, a simple yes or no may not suffice. It is then I must lay the problem before Him and, hopefully, “hear” the answer in my heart by the Holy Spirit. A coin toss can confirm whether I have tainted the answer received with my own ideas (which are not like God's), or whether I have, indeed, heard God.

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