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My God Shots

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Pastor Chris Williams lives in Lake Conroe, Texas. He is the founder of God’s Garage. A nonprofit organization that provides cars, life skills and support groups to women in need . This is his God Shot.

Not long ago, some guys started gathering in my garage and working on cars for people that couldn’t afford to fix them properly. When my family and I relocated, our new house had enough space where we could conceivably build a real shop and continue fixing cars. Although money was tight, I managed to buy the materials to build a working garage. They were delivered and there they sat, getting rusty. I knew I was meant to help people, but realistically I couldn’t afford to build and run a shop.

One night after church, I was driving home in a torrential downpour. Cars were crawling along and visibility was poor. As I inched along in my truck, I was able to make out a couple walking on the side of the road. I pulled over with the full understanding that even though it was raining like crazy, they might not get in the car with me, a stranger. But when I rolled down my window, I recognized them. It was a lady from our church and her young daughter. They were relieved to see me and hopped in.

She told me that her truck was in the shop and had been there for months while they worked on it. As a car guy, this didn’t make sense, so I pressed her further. It turned out that the shop hadn’t even started repairing her car, because she couldn’t afford to fix it. And yet, her and her daughter were at church every Sunday and every Wednesday. She went to work every day, not letting anything keep her from fulfilling her obligations. The two of them had been hitchhiking, bumming rides and walking for miles to get wherever they needed to be. My heart broke for her and I questioned how this could be happening in America. Compared to many other places in the world, we live in great abundance.

That rainy night encounter lit a fire in me that’s hard to put into words. I knew there were too many people who knew how to work on cars, and too many people with a dollar to spare. Someway, somehow, we could figure out how to fill this need. We could help women, one vehicle at a time. Although, nothing about my financial situation had changed during the thunderstorm, what had changed was the passion God ignited within me to move forward. It was a turning point in my life that became a stamp of faith. The courage and determination of that woman and her daughter opened my eyes. I didn’t know how it would happen, but I knew with certainty that God was going to provide.

A couple of days later, I got a call from a parishioner. Clearly something was on his mind, but he kept talking in circles. As a pastor, it’s common for people to come to me for guidance, but I know for some it’s not always easy to open up. “I don’t know how to say this, I just don’t. But, I feel like God talked to me.” He spoke in circles some more until he finally spit out, “I heard that what you guys do is help people with their cars. But, you’ve got a building and it’s not put up. How much money would it cost to get that going? I feel like I’m supposed to pay for it.” Taken completely off guard, but deeply touched, I thanked him, but declined his generous offer. That’s when he got a little assertive. “God told me this is what I’m supposed to do! I have a check in my hand and I’m writing it now. What’s the number?”

I told him this gigantic, unreachable number and he showed up shortly thereafter with the full amount. That act of generosity launched God’s Garage at my house, in a new shop, in a far more functional way than it had ever been before. Our capacity to help women in need grew exponentially and I knew that I was supposed to do this full time. What started out as a monthly hobby with friends needed to become an actual nonprofit business that could help more people, but how?

My doubts would take over and I would tell myself that I couldn’t pull it off. Up until then, I had mainly funded the garage out of my wife and my paychecks and the kindness of friends. If I did this full time, how would I have money for parts, or for food and living expenses? I argued with God many times and told Him why it couldn’t happen, but God was not convinced. His message to me was clear.

God made the seemingly impossible, possible at our garage. Through a series of events, we found a building to lease, without the first month’s rent and were given the keys before any money or contracts had been signed. Often, I would be scrambling to figure out how I could make ends meet, like the time we desperately needed an automotive lift. A used one runs around $2,500. That’s pricey, especially when your cash flow is always going towards car parts, registrations and insurance. I never told anyone about the cost of the lift and then one day a man, that I didn’t know, walks in and hands me an envelope. He said, “Here, I’m supposed to give you this $2,500 check. I don’t know what it’s for, but you do.” Things like that happened time and time again, throughout our history.

God’s Garage has given away and repaired hundreds of cars to women in need. The vehicles are merely a platform that initiates change in the lives of those that are desperate for change. Ladies who have found themselves in a situation where they’ve lost hope and see no other way to move on in life. In rural areas without transportation there’s no way to get, or keep a job. Where we live, it’s one of the first things on a job application. Do you have transportation?

The cycles of poverty that some of our clients have endured is sometimes due to a lack of life skills. We figured out a holistic way to address this issue and teach these women how to fish for themselves. The garage offers classes in finances, single parenting and interviewing for jobs, as well as weekly support groups. These classes are prerequisites to receiving a car or receiving repairs on their existing vehicle. If we just gave away cars, it wouldn’t be long before many were in the same situation again. Instead, they leave knowledgeable about their finances and confident in their abilities.

The cars represent freedom. So many ladies have been trapped in relationships with no way to get out. Without transportation there’s physically no means to get away. They can’t get a job and make a new life for themselves and their children. Yes, transportation is big, but the freedom it provides is even bigger. They realize that they can come out on top of adverse situations and every little victory that comes along gives them a little more hope, a little more strength and a little more faith.

God’s Garage is a nondenominational faith-based garage that serves single moms, widows, wives of deployed military and any woman in need. Our volunteers and supporters are from every possible denomination, including Atheists. The volunteer mechanics are almost always exclusively men and most of these guys normally wouldn’t go to a therapist, or a pastor, or a support group to share what’s on their minds. But when they’re working on the car, along side a man of faith, the conversations lend themselves easily to talking about what’s weighing on them. They, too, have a place to go and learn life skills, receive guidance and simply belong.

A woman and her daughter walking on the side of the road in a thunderstorm, turned out to be my God Shot. I did not see that coming, that’s for sure. But, today and everyday, you can see His unconditional love and acceptance hard at work in His garage.

Auto Zone                                Pastor Chris hugs a grateful recipient at God’s Garage.

*Main photo Credit: Tim Barosh

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