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Happenings on the Way to Heaven

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Bluebonnets and George are Signs of Favor


"George Washington" made a speech on June 30, 2018, the day of our grand re-opening inside our newly built shop.


My family and I moved every one-to-four years from the time I was born until I went to college. Since my father was in the Navy, sometimes we had to move in the middle of the school year. Those were the hardest adjustments. I attended four different high schools, one middle school, and six elementary schools. 

 

The moving stopped after I came to Texas. I graduated from Rice University, got married, and we lived in the same house for 30 years, raising our three daughters there. After our youngest went off to college, we decided to do this crazy thing and build a brand-new building for our auto repair shop. The only challenge was that we had to take out a loan. The challenge with taking out a loan was, we had to come up with a down payment of 20 percent of a lot of money.

 

Now, by that time I was a Christian and understood the importance of prayer. Prayer played a huge part in this undertaking. God always tells us in the Bible not to be afraid. The only thing we need to fear is HIM. In fact, he tells us this 365 times. Once for each day of the year, but that was not enough times for me because I was thick-headed and wanted a sign. Like Gideon and the fleece, I wanted to be sure we were doing the right thing, so I prayed to God for a sign.

 

Each morning, I used to take a piece of chalk and draw a circle on the floor around our office and our waiting rooms. It was a prayer circle, and I would say prayers over our service advisors, technicians, and office folks. We had anywhere from 15 to 19 employees. So, there was a lot to pray about, not including the headache cars. When my husband said we really needed that new building now because the old roof was leaking something awful; the metal and wood walls were tired and shabby, and he just couldn’t stand it anymore, I knew we had to do something. So, my prayer circle became bigger. I started drawing prayer circles around the building. Then I started walking prayer circles around the property.



It was in December of 2017 that we made a trip out to the country. Coming back home we stopped at the Industrial Country Market on Hwy. 71. It was an eclectic place selling an odd ball assortment of tools, pottery, food, plants, books, seeds, purses, and clothing. The entire store was solar-powered and had aqueducts to catch rainwater to flush the toilets and water the green houses. There was a room set aside to display photography and art. It was a cool place, and it was different; one person described it as a Martian outpost. We loved the owners and took their class on how to build your own solar-power system. They had once owned an electronics supply store in Houston and sold their business to create this vision. I loved and admired their “leap of faith.” That December we stopped in, and I bought a large bag of bluebonnet seeds. Sybren thought they were overpriced, but he didn’t object.

 

I created a garden circle, planted those seeds at the shop, and I waited. My thought was that if those plants produced, then God’s blessing would be upon our building project. That would be my sign. My garden turned out much smaller than I had planned. I thought I had bought a large supply of seeds, but I thought wrong. I learned bluebonnets are persnickety and need to be scattered densely because they won’t all sprout.

 

By this time, we had already sold our home in Spring Valley, and had bought a Class A RV and were living in it at the shop. I did not miss our house as I was ready for adventure. Anyways the buyers tore down our house soon after the sale. They built what our old neighbors referred to as the White House, the biggest gaudiest house on the street. So, there was no going back.

 

Each morning I drew my prayer circle, and I would run and check on the bluebonnet patch. Every morning was the same. Nothing was there.

 

About the third week of January, I had given up. I didn’t plant them right, I thought.

 

Then one morning, Sybren said, “Have you seen your bluebonnets? They’re sprouting.”

 

“No, they’re not,” I said. “I didn’t do it right. I checked the other day and there was nothing.”

 

“Well,” he said. “You better go look.”

 

I ran outside, and sure enough I saw those elliptical-shaped light green leaves, staring at me, sticking out their little green tongues.

 

“How come you saw them, and I didn’t?” I didn’t even know that Sybren knew what bluebonnet seedlings looked like.

 

“You weren’t paying attention.”  ‘Pay attention’ is Sybren’s all time favorite expression in the entire English language. He told our technicians that at least 10,000 times.

 

Well, God answered our prayer. God’s Bluebonnets were beautiful in our little garden. The bank came through with the financing, and we built a brand new 7600 square-foot shop. At our grand opening, George Washington came on horseback trotting into our building to dedicate Liberty Hoepfl Garage. Now, the shop is in new hands ready to go another 75 years.

 

Today, I was working with the ladies from the Chappell Hill Garden Club, and we were pruning the dead brush by the post office on Main Street.

 

My friend Karen said, “Don’t step on the baby bluebonnets.”  I saw them this time and smiled. God is good. Never be afraid to follow Him and trust Him. “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse nor his delight in the leap of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” (Psalm 147:10-11) Fear Him and nothing else.

 

Comments? Write Kathryn@TexasHeritage.net. Kathryn van der Pol and her husband own Texas Heritage Event Center.

This column originally appeared in The Brenham Banner Press on January 8, 2023.

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