It was late in the afternoon about this time of year when Josh and I decided to drive down and catch the Vespers at The Abbey of Gethsemani. We lived in Louisville, and so the trip to Trappist, Kentucky was just a quick jaunt.
The service was refreshing, as always, but when we returned to Josh’s car it wouldn’t crank. We raised the hood, but we were at a loss as to what was going on. About that time, a guy pulled up and offered to help. He helped us take the battery out, he drove us to a place to test it, he brought us back, and he put the battery back in himself.
As he was installing the new battery, I noticed two words tatooed on his hand: deus providebit, God will provide. So we broke down at a monastery, a guy appeared out of the blue with a Latin tatoo that says “God will provide,” and he spent a couple hours going out of his way to take care of us.
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This weekend, as I was reading Genesis 22, I encountered those two words again — deus providebit. I was immediately transported from the mountain there in Genesis with Abraham and Isaac back to the monastery parking lot in Trappist, KY — the sight of the tatoo on his hand, and the kindness shown to us that evening.
deus providebit — those are the two words I’m clinging to as I stare in the face the school year that starts tomorrow.
Brian W. Davidson 