Lovable Diesel:
The Miracle of a Heart's Desire
Does God hear our prayers? A friend of ours, Jon Potter, shared this amazing story about how God answered his prayer about a pet. Jon, a minister in Birmingham, Alabama, announced to his family who had longed for a pet for over a year, “I am going to believe God for something big!” He said he had always wanted a Blue Dane and so he was going to pray and invited his wife and children to join him.
“The kids eagerly jumped on board, but my wife, Lisa, not so much,” Jon said. “Danes are huge, they eat a lot and require room to roam, and they demand and give so much affection,” John continued. Lisa would joke, “Jon, tell you what, you can get one right after you leave my graveside service.”
Jon knew what kind of Dane he wanted: a Blue Dane. He learned that it would cost him more than $1,000, money that he didn’t have at that time, at least for a dog. He began a fevered search in every rescue or shelter he could find in the Southeast. “There were Danes, and scores of mixed breeds with Dane in them, but none of them matched up with what I knew I wanted,” Jon explained.
Jon continued his miraculous story, “After three months, my dream was beginning to fade. Then I received an email from a friend who had known I was searching. 'Jon,' my friend said, 'I forgot about this email I received two months ago about a Blue Dane for sale.' My friend continued, 'He may be gone, but here’s the number. It’s worth a shot.'" He sent Jon the email, and there Jon’s dream was, in living color, all 150 lbs!
Jon called the lady and told her his story. “She was incredibly gracious,” Jon said, “but she told me she had committed him to a breeder in south Alabama, and she was so sorry because we sounded like nice people.” Jon asked her that if anything changed, would she please call him, and she agreed she would. Thirty minutes later the lady with the Blue Dane called Jon back. She said, “I don’t know why, but I feel that my family is supposed to meet you.”
“She didn’t know why, but I did,” Jon said, “God and His favor were at work!”
The lady showed up at Jon’s house and brought Diesel. “Diesel and I connected, and it was a love, a bonding at first sight,” Jon said, “We played, and he jumped on me and licked my face. I was smitten!”
In the course of our dialogue, an amazing fact came to light. Before the meeting, Jon had not learned the owner’s last name. It just so happened that her last name was Potter! “Are you kidding me! I have been in Alabama the better part of 30 years, and never met another Potter,” Jon exclaimed. “Furthermore,” Jon continued, “What made this ridiculous was that Diesel, on all his paperwork–his birth record, his vaccinations, and yes, even his AKC registration, was Diesel Potter, a two and 1/2-year-old Great Dane!”
We talked and talked, and at the end of the conversation, the owner told me, “Jon, it is evidently clear that God is at work here. Big Boy is yours if you want him!”
Jon knew she had committed Diesel to the breeder and with a lump in his throat said, “How much were you selling him for, and could we make some kind of payment arrangement?”
It was then and there that God did the unimaginable! The owner said, “No, you don’t understand, I am supposed to GIVE him to you!”
Jon said, “My shock at her words and the kindness of God at that moment in time, indelibly imprinted me with the truth of Ephesians 3:20,
“now to Him who is able to do exceedingly above all
we can ask or think!”
Jon proclaimed “He did. He fulfilled His word–same last name and all!!!”
Arlette Revells
Photo credit: Jon Potter
The Miracle of a Heart's Desire
Does God hear our prayers? A friend of ours, Jon Potter, shared this amazing story about how God answered his prayer about a pet. Jon, a minister in Birmingham, Alabama, announced to his family who had longed for a pet for over a year, “I am going to believe God for something big!” He said he had always wanted a Blue Dane and so he was going to pray and invited his wife and children to join him.
“The kids eagerly jumped on board, but my wife, Lisa, not so much,” Jon said. “Danes are huge, they eat a lot and require room to roam, and they demand and give so much affection,” John continued. Lisa would joke, “Jon, tell you what, you can get one right after you leave my graveside service.”
Jon knew what kind of Dane he wanted: a Blue Dane. He learned that it would cost him more than $1,000, money that he didn’t have at that time, at least for a dog. He began a fevered search in every rescue or shelter he could find in the Southeast. “There were Danes, and scores of mixed breeds with Dane in them, but none of them matched up with what I knew I wanted,” Jon explained.
Jon continued his miraculous story, “After three months, my dream was beginning to fade. Then I received an email from a friend who had known I was searching. 'Jon,' my friend said, 'I forgot about this email I received two months ago about a Blue Dane for sale.' My friend continued, 'He may be gone, but here’s the number. It’s worth a shot.'" He sent Jon the email, and there Jon’s dream was, in living color, all 150 lbs!
Jon called the lady and told her his story. “She was incredibly gracious,” Jon said, “but she told me she had committed him to a breeder in south Alabama, and she was so sorry because we sounded like nice people.” Jon asked her that if anything changed, would she please call him, and she agreed she would. Thirty minutes later the lady with the Blue Dane called Jon back. She said, “I don’t know why, but I feel that my family is supposed to meet you.”
“She didn’t know why, but I did,” Jon said, “God and His favor were at work!”
The lady showed up at Jon’s house and brought Diesel. “Diesel and I connected, and it was a love, a bonding at first sight,” Jon said, “We played, and he jumped on me and licked my face. I was smitten!”
In the course of our dialogue, an amazing fact came to light. Before the meeting, Jon had not learned the owner’s last name. It just so happened that her last name was Potter! “Are you kidding me! I have been in Alabama the better part of 30 years, and never met another Potter,” Jon exclaimed. “Furthermore,” Jon continued, “What made this ridiculous was that Diesel, on all his paperwork–his birth record, his vaccinations, and yes, even his AKC registration, was Diesel Potter, a two and 1/2-year-old Great Dane!”
We talked and talked, and at the end of the conversation, the owner told me, “Jon, it is evidently clear that God is at work here. Big Boy is yours if you want him!”
Jon knew she had committed Diesel to the breeder and with a lump in his throat said, “How much were you selling him for, and could we make some kind of payment arrangement?”
It was then and there that God did the unimaginable! The owner said, “No, you don’t understand, I am supposed to GIVE him to you!”
Jon said, “My shock at her words and the kindness of God at that moment in time, indelibly imprinted me with the truth of Ephesians 3:20,
“now to Him who is able to do exceedingly above all
we can ask or think!”
Jon proclaimed “He did. He fulfilled His word–same last name and all!!!”
Arlette Revells
Photo credit: Jon Potter
[Arlette Revells is a noted author, entrepreneur, a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is a gifted musician and plays the keyboard for the worship team at Christian Life Worship Center, and with her husband, Lavon Revells, a retired Chemist with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), are facilitators of our Sunday school class for adults.
Arlette is on radio, is a sought after speaker for women and men's groups, and is a member of Joy Springs ministry for pastors and church leaders. It was my privilege to be the pastor to Lavon and Arlette Revells for 9 years when I was the senior pastor at Tarkenton Memorial Church in Athens, GA, named after the late Rev. Dr. Dallas Tarkenton.]
Arlette is on radio, is a sought after speaker for women and men's groups, and is a member of Joy Springs ministry for pastors and church leaders. It was my privilege to be the pastor to Lavon and Arlette Revells for 9 years when I was the senior pastor at Tarkenton Memorial Church in Athens, GA, named after the late Rev. Dr. Dallas Tarkenton.]