That is the question that people have been asking forever!
If you don’t want to hear me being preachy again, then you had probably better stop reading NOW!
In my life, things have happened that I do not understand. At times, I questioned whether God was in control! I have asked why this happened to me?........... You get the picture!
I am a very blessed man and at my age, it is much easier to see why those events occurred than it was when I was young. Other than losing my Mom too soon, my uncles too soon, and some other family and friends, I have lived a pretty trauma free life compared to a lot of others. Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been easy all the time! Nothing in life is easy!
I hope I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings by using them for an example but I am going to use some of my most loved people as truly amazing examples of bravery under very traumatic situations. I don’t know why they have these traumatic events but I do know that God is in control and his plan is perfect! I did not say easy, I said perfect!
First, there is our pastor and good friend, Brother Jerry. This man is a survivor of a type of cancer that I can’t even pronounce. Brother Jerry is a multi generation Baptist preacher that has lived a ‘squeaky’ clean life. Why did he get a cancer that was supposed to be a death sentence? I do not know why this happened but I got to meet a brilliant doctor who was saved and became a Christian as a result of helping Brother Jerry beat his cancer. Yes, I said beat it! The doctor’s testimony was amazing!
Was that the reason he got cancer? I don’t know if it was the reason or not, but it is a good outcome for a really bad thing. Maybe that doctor would have never surrendered his life to Jesus if it were not for meeting Brother Jerry. I don’t know for sure but I bet there were a whole list of others at that hospital that were affected by Brother Jerry! I can’t speak for Brother Jerry (but he can comment on this at the bottom of the blog if he wants too), but he would probably sacrifice himself again if he knew souls would be saved. Brother Jerry has had lots of complications as a result of his cancer but he gets up every day and serves Jesus just like he was 30 years old and full of energy. We should all be a little more like him!
Then there is my cousin Deana and her husband Roger. They have suffered trauma that most people could not bare. They lost a child many years ago after going through tons of surgeries and health issues. He was a fine young man and left this earth way too soon in my opinion. Even with that burden, Roger and Deana stayed faithful to God and are loyal servants of Jesus. Traci and I have always had such respect for them and were amazed at there outlook on life. Recently their beautiful daughter Kayla was diagnosed with radical breast cancer. She has undergone chemo, mastectomies, and other complications only to find out that the cancer has spread. As usual, Roger, Deana, and Kayla plow ahead and refuse to give in to Satan (the bad guy)😈. They remain strong and always trust in God. We are all praying for a full recovery for Kayla and we would appreciate all of yours as well. Roger, Deana, and Kayla, just know we love you and are willing to help any way we can. We believe in miracles and God's ability to heal Kayla.
Again, I do not know why these things happen! Why did Brother Jerry and Kayla get cancer?
Compared to them, my problems and questions are so simple and almost not worth asking.
I do know this! We are all part of a larger plan that is woven together in so many ways you cannot believe! As I get older, I am able to see the big plan much more clearly. I will give you a few examples of how God has put us in exactly the right places, at the right time, with the right people, under the right circumstances:
Case 1:
When I was starting the 3rd grade, my parents moved to a big city from a small town. I was terrified of that big ole school and I was assigned the meanest teacher known to man. That teacher flunked me on a math test on the first day of school because I broke my pencil lead and asked to sharpen it. She said I was a trouble maker and I was not sharpening my pencil and I received my only “F” that I have ever gotten. Those of you that know me, know that once you do me that way, I am DONE. I would not go to school and my parents eventually had to pull me out of school and hold me back a grade. Sounds terrible doesn’t it. Nope, best thing that ever happened to me. You see, if I had not been held back, I would have never met my “Sunshine”, she would have been a year ahead of me in school. The PERFECT plan!
Case 2:
Just to make sure that Traci and I found each other (even if I had not been held back a grade) Traci's family and my family took our vacations at the same lake, all the way across this big state and at the same times of year. We were probably swimming on the same beach every summer! If plan "A" didn't work, plan "B" was there. The PERFECT plan!
Case 3:
Traci's mother went to work with both of my aunts at the county court house about the time we were dating age. This was in a pretty big city (100,000 plus population). My aunt actually talked me into asking Traci for a date. Surely not a coincidence! The PERFECT plan!
Case 4:
In the early 1980's, this nice guy (Scott, the guy in the video of the Black Hole starting) happened to come to work at the same Mobil Oil facility that I worked at. Turns out, he and his wife Nancy had known Traci's family for years and went to the same church. We have been life long friends and two of his 3 kids work for our company today. Scott hangs out with us some weekends and at the track. I have even more stories about how Traci and I were destined to meet. Ask me about them and I will share them. The PERFECT plan!
Case 5:
Mobil Oil denied me advancing to a management level because I did not have a college degree. I had worked hard for that promotion and all of my customers wanted me to have it. It was devastating to me at the time and I left Mobil after 15 years of service because of that decision by Mobil. Devastating, no. We started our first company which eventually led to us forming Axis. What a blessing that turning point was. That message was delivered to me by a good friend of mine (Kenny) who now works for our company. Coincidence, I think not! The PERFECT plan!
Case 6:
Our first little company was doing well but our largest customer went through a major merger and they cut off all work to contractors. Our company was failing after 5 years. Devastating right, Nope, as a result, I took a job that my good friend (Tim) offered me in Houston, Texas. We sold our little company to that company and learned how to build a larger organization, not a Mom and Pop company. Years later, Tim now works for our company. The PERFECT plan!
Case 7:
While at that company working for Tim, I met our business partner (Joe). Our success would not be possible without him. Although he is not my biological son, I claim his as my own. Coincidence, are you kidding! The PERFECT plan!
Case 8:
On my birthday in 2006, I woke up to God telling me that I needed to quit my job working for Tim and start my own company again. I told Traci that God wanted me to quit and we were going to start another company. As always, Traci supported me with that decision and I wrote my resignation letter to Tim. Come to find out, our partner Joe told Tim he was leaving the company too. His reason for leaving was the lack of promotions and pay that he deserved because he did not have a college degree (sound familiar?). Tim asked me if I could get Joe to come to work for our company so he could go back to work for Tim as a contractor and they could pay him whatever he wanted. Instead, we offered Joe a partnership in our new company and Joe accepted. We have been together since 2006. Coincidence, whatever!!! The PERECT plan!
Case 9:
We sold that company to a crappy company that was a complete failure and had terrible management. We learned some valuable lessons. Never sell your company with an easy pay out plan! Never sell to a company that doesn't know what you do! Sounds like a disaster right? Nope, we met our Business Development Manager (Patrick) who is not my biological son but I claim him too! Disaster, Naah. The PERFECT plan!
I could go on and on and I have left out hundreds of cases of God's PERFECT plan. If you ever want to hear about them, ask me, I love to talk about them!
So you are probably wondering what all of this preaching has to do with the racing dream? Here is how God influences our dream:
Case 10:
We had a major development in our racing dream this week. As most of you know, we have become friends with the Janis family. Most people would wonder how some rookie weenie like myself could ever get hooked up with the current ProMod World Champion and his son, the current Crew Chief of the Year? Here is how! When I was trying to find an engine for the Black Hole, I looked at dozens of engines. I contacted several people who had engines for sale and I narrowed them down to two engines. One belonged to a guy who helped racers buy and sell parts and the other belonged to the Caruso family out of New York. I struggled to make my decision and at one time, the one being sold by the parts salesman had the edge. Even though I thought I wanted that engine, something just kept leading me to the Caruso engine. I finally decided on the Caruso engine because the Caruso's seemed like nice people who ran a family race operation. I like that!
Because Traci and I had been lied to when we bought the race boat (that started this whole process! see main page stories for details about that story), we decided to take a road trip to pick up the engine to make sure we got what we were told we were getting.
We found out from the Caruso's that the engine was at their engine builder's shop (Jan-Cen Racing Engines). That is where we met Mike Janis Sr. and Mike Janis Jr. The minute I met them, I knew it was meant to be. Over the last year and a half, we have become good friends and they have coached me through the whole process of building a ProMod car. I have bought some parts from them but our friendship is not about the business we do!
Traci and I would go to every one of their races if we could to watch them do their thing. We try to support them any way we can. Mike Jr. and I communicate with one another regularly. Traci and I pray for their safety and success every time they go down the track. Mike Jr. always answers my silly text messages even when I know he has better things to do. Again, it is not about the business. I am sure I am not a big customer compared to some of their pro racers.
With all of that being said, a huge development happened this last week. I am an absolute rookie that is less than 2 months away from driving one of the most violent type of race cars known to man! We have so much to learn and no way to learn it but to make runs down the track. There is so much we don't know that it would take us hundreds of runs to make a good run. To even be able to get the thing down the track under full power without destroying something is a small miracle!
Enter the Janis family. They are going to come to Houston to help us make our first runs down the track! Yes, you heard that right, THE CURRENT PROMOD WORLD CHAMPION AND THE CURRENT CREW CHIEF OF THE YEAR ARE HELPING THE HARVEY FAMILY GET THE BLACK HOLE DOWN THE TRACK FOR TWO DAYS OF TESTING!!!!! Unbelievable right? Not hardly, The PERFECT plan!
I know that this sermon has been a long one but I just could not stop writing about the miracles of God's plan in our life!
So when things get tough, remember God has a plan. You may not understand it now, but you will some day!
When you are sick, there is a plan!
When you red light in the first round (sorry Mike, I could not resist), there is a plan!
When you miss out on the promotion, there is a plan!
When you are a rookie weenie about to run a very powerful and potentially dangerous car down the drag strip, there is a plan!
I don't know what my future plan looks like or how this dream will end up but I do know that it will be PERFECT!
Believe me, when you have a face that looks like this one, you need a plan!!!
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