Early Morning Miracle

I realize perhaps it's a small thing, but to me, it was huge! Allow me to give you a little background information. Several months ago, God answered a very specific prayer for me: I needed more time to study, and time with Him. The answer: goodbye full-time job with benefits...goodbye safe salary. Needless to say, I have been learning to trust in Him for financial provision, which has been scary, to say the least. Yeah, I get student loans, but seriously, sometimes things are just tight.

Therefore, I started donating plasma a couple of weeks ago. Money is money, and that's the equivalent of two tanks of gas a week. So this morning, I was on my way at 6:30 to give away said plasma. I knew that my car was on empty, and I also knew that I didn't have a dime to my name (let alone a penny), so I just trusted that it would work out ok. As my car ran out of gas a few miles from my house, I realized exactly how far I can go once the red warning light comes on.

As I pulled my car off the road, I couldn't figure out how to turn on the hazard lights. So I'm sitting there in my car, it's cold, out of gas, at 6:48am, googling where the switch is located on my car. I really can't think of anyone to call, because it's so early! After turning on the hazard lights, still incredibly calm, I just started praying.

Jesus, please send me a good Samaritan.

A woman stopped, named Christina (of course) and asked if I had called anyone. At this point, I started to cry, because I knew my prayer had been answered. I told her my little story, and she told me she was going to run home, get a gas can, fill it up and come back. She was so incredibly kind, and I just couldn't stop crying. She also gave me $10 to get more gas.

I wasn't crying because I was upset, but for the simple fact that He is so freaking faithful! Here I am, completely dependent, and boom, He answers my prayer the minute it goes up. It's a tiny thing, like I already said, and maybe some people will scoff at this story. The reality, however, is that it's the little things like this, the small answered prayers, that touch me the most, and make me realize that He is in EVERY SINGLE part of our lives. He wants every piece of us, and when we let go, and give it up, He provides perfectly.

Our God is AWESOME!!!!!

Blessings

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.-Philippians 4:12

I think the word "season" is overused in Christian circles, but since the wise king Solomon used it, I shall do the same. It has been a hard season. I'll say it again, a hard season. Although I never wondered how it would turn out, because I knew that God had His hand on me the whole time, I often wondered when it would end. When you spend four months stumbling through a fiery trial, it's easy to believe that it will go on forever. I can attest to the fact that even four months can feel like eternity.

I realize that comparatively speaking, it wasn't really THAT bad. Some of it I perpetuated out of my own stubbornness. Some of it was the culmination of things already set in motion. The hardest part, however, was the feeling that no matter how hard I tried to do the right thing, I encountered opposition at every turn. The past is done, however, and I am starting to truly feel like I've turned the page on this wretched experience. It was a pruning, and it hurt.

I can finally breathe, though! Things are not as complicated or as difficult or as confusing as they have been. God is dropping amazing presents into my lap, and I feel the joy of the moment, instead of wondering when the bottom will fall out. I'm still getting hit with the predictable school-related spiritual warfare, but I'm so irritated with the enemy's tactics at this point that laughter comes more naturally in his face.

I have a better understanding of who I am, what I'm worth, and what I'm not. God has liberated me from some old chains.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A tie to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
--Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The last four months have been a season of dying, killing, breaking down, weeping, losing, throwing away, tearing, hating, and war. These days, and I say this with some caution, are for laughter, dancing, embracing, gaining, speaking, love, and peace.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.--James 1:2

My joy was almost constant, even when it appeared that I was breaking. My endgame was always the same eternity with the King. It's just nice to be able to smile more often!

As a final note, thank you to those who stood beside me, never letting me fall too far. You know who you are.