I started out my existence as just a bunch of parts in a factory in Hong Kong. Some workers put a bunch of these parts together as I slowly traveled down a moving belt. At the end of the line, a nice young lady plugged my wires into a tester and sound came out of me. A young man picked me up, put me in a little cardboard box and then put a whole bunch of these boxes into a bigger box. The next destination was the belly of a huge ship. We left the dock and crossed the ocean, arriving in America a couple of weeks later. I was very happy that I hadn’t gotten seasick!

After I was unloaded from the ship, I spent quite a bit of time bouncing around in the back of various delivery trucks and vans. I also got to spend time sitting on shelves in warehouses. Finally, I arrived at the back door of an electronics store in Amarillo, Texas. The year was 1970 and I was ready for a more settled life!

One day, a young man walked through the store door and began looking at all the different AM/FM Cassette Players in the store. I later found out that he didn’t have a lot of money, so he rather quickly came to my shelf. I wasn’t very fancy, but I was able to make neat sounds! After asking a lot of questions about whether or not I would fit in the dash of his ’69 Chevy, he counted out $29.95 plus tax.

We drove a long way after we left the store. I was still in my little cardboard box. Finally, we pulled up to his home. His wife and three little children all came out to ooh and aah over me. I learned from the children that my new owner’s name was “Jerry”. Jerry didn’t waste any time at all. In just a few minutes, he slid me behind the dash, poked my two tuning posts through the proper holes and tightened the lock nuts on tight to keep me in my place. Next came the neat knobs.

Everyone in the family gathered around for the “test”. Jerry put a tape in my slot and, suddenly, I was putting out the most beautiful music I’d ever heard. Then he popped the tape out and began turning my knobs in order to tune in a local radio station. I really didn’t care much for the music that came out, but I didn’t seem to have much of a choice!

For a couple of years, we had a wonderful relationship. Everywhere Jerry and Big Blue went, I got to go. Jerry pastored a church and served with the local Volunteer Fire Department. I played good music for him faithfully. Sometimes we were bouncing across the prairie on the way to a fire. Other times, we went to the hospital so he could visit someone who was sick. Very often, Jerry would sing along with the tapes he put in my slot. We had some great times together, Jerry and me!

One day, some new people came into my life. Jerry invited a missionary family from South Africa to come and talk about God’s work in that country. I believe the man’s name was David. He was a pretty good-sized guy. He and Jerry rode around quite a bit together. During one of their conversations, David explained that he was going to take his station wagon across the ocean in a big ship. Yep, his car was going with him and his family to South Africa. Then, David began explaining that he hoped he could get an AM/FM Cassette Player as nice as Jerry’s to put in his wagon and take back with him.

Well, the next thing I knew, Jerry was approaching me with various implements of change. He had a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and a roll of black electrical tape. In just a few minutes, he pulled me out of the dash. In a few more minutes, I was installed in David’s station wagon. I was going to Africa! Imagine that! I was going to get to provide music and Christian teaching to David and his family as they drove around doing the work of the ministry. I felt so honored!

I knew I was going to miss Jerry and his family a lot. But, I knew that this was a pretty common event in their lives. I’d heard that many other things had been passed along to missionaries at various times. Jerry and his family believed that sharing with others, even those things that meant a lot to them, was a good thing to do.

Here I was, back on a large ship again. Our car was stored way down deep inside the ship. I felt pretty safe and secure and looked forward to my new adventure. David and his family brought along a lot of tapes to which they could listen once we arrived in South Africa. Well, someone else had a different plan. On the second day of our trip, I heard the door open. A man crawled inside and took me out of my proper place. He looked around to see if anyone was watching him. When he felt safe, he hurried to his room and hid me under his mattress. I was devastated. David would never know where I was.

Was this thief in for a surprise. When he got off the ship and put me into his car, I didn’t work very well. I only wanted to play Christian tapes and tune in Christian radio stations. When he tried to get me to play other stuff, I would spit and crackle and cut in and out as much as I could. When he’d set my dial to a station that only played atrocious music, I’d suddenly pop to a Christian station. I guess that was my attempt to continue the missionary journey I’d started several years before.

Later, I heard a funny thing through the grapevine. You’ll love this. The shipping company’s insurance replaced me with a really fancy, much more expensive AM/FM Cassette Player. It could pull in stations from very far away. One of the verses I heard a radio preacher talk about one time back in Texas was, Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” My guess is that God gave Jerry another AM/FM Cassette Player for Big Blue. He certainly blessed David and his family with a much better player than I could ever be. And, in a sort of cosmic burst of humor, God allowed me to end up with someone who badly needed my influence. Go figger!

• None of us know exactly where we’re going to end up when we start our journey.
• If we fit in where we’re supposed to and do the best job we can, God will use us to bring about His purpose in the lives of others.
• Things are only things. However, some things are special and anointed by God for a particular purpose.
• Generous folks are never hesitant to share their things with others when God leads them to do so.
• Nobody ever saw a U-Haul trailer attached to a hearse!

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