I find myself getting constant reminders of remembering to trust in God. He is my provider and He has never failed to come through for me. Even if it is not in the way I desire, I know that it is within His will.
Once again, I got that reminder recently.
The First Chain of Events:
As many of you know, Rodney is living up in Surry County during the week and is staying at Dennis & Terre's farm house up there. We got the recent bill (we are paying the difference in the electricity) and it was quite high. Mostly, it was a misunderstanding on how Rodney was to be heating the house to protect the pipes.
I will say that I was frustrated. I shouldn't have been because I know it is not in my control and I couldn't change it, but it wasn't what we expected. We moved some bills around and it worked out ok.
Well, Dennis & Terre decided to bless us and take care of part of that bill, and while it is always hard for me to accept blessings in that manner, I was grateful. It gave us a little more wiggle room.
The Second Chain of Events:
After church, I walked out feeling pretty good. I was grateful to God that he gave such awesome hearts to Dennis & Terre! However, how I responded to the next thing that came upon me in no way reflected my gratefulness.
My car had a flat in the church parking lot. I had ran over a roofing nail. How? When? Who knows?
Now, it was not too bad at first, but it was a small inconvenient set-back in terms of time.
After my Dad and brother Tim started working on putting the spare, I was confident that all I needed to do was mosey on down the road to the tire place where my tires are under warranty for free fixing or replacing.
However, it was not that easy. Somehow or another, the bolts and lug nuts got stripped and just driving it down the road would not be an option. This was where I emotionally responded, not only not being grateful to God for giving His blessing earlier and in having a Dad & Brother who could at least try to help me, but also by hurting my Dad's feelings by blaming him when I shouldn't have. Later on that day, I was truly ashamed of myself.
Many of you know that I have really gotten my money's worth in my AAA membership since October in dealing with my "new" car. In fact, I have towed it twice, replaced the transmission, and locked my keys in it. So, I had to get my car towed, once again (the 3rd time!), and pray that I could get it fixed that day so I wouldn't be car-less the next day. The tow went fairly well, even though I was severely unhappy for having to pay for another tow (which wasn't that expensive, but I was expecting to not have to pay for anything involved with the flat as my tire was under warranty).
All this being said, I thought I was going to get my car back that day, and, in the end, I didn't as they didn't get in all the bolts and lug nuts needed. It was Sunday, so I did give them a little slack, but again, I wasn't too happy because now I had no car for at least the first part of Monday.
Thankfully, my Dad was able to give me a ride to work the next day. Of course, I apologized for my behavior from the previous day, but he had already forgiven me.
Third Chain of Events:
Monday night was the big party. A dear lady of the church, LaVerne, was turning 90 and I had graciously agreed to take pictures for a scrapbook that would be made from the event. The party was lovely and I took some great pictures (if I do say so myself).
Well last night, Angie, LaVerne's daughter, blessed me with some compensation. I had in no way expected to be compensated. In fact, I had agreed to the task thinking I was just helping out! I was helping out, and feeling honored to be even asked to take on that task. I, hesitatingly, accepted the gift.
The Culmination of all 3 Chains of Events:
The kind hearts of Dennis & Terre as well as the gift from Angie almost exactly equals the amount of money we had to spend to replace the bolts and lug nuts on that wheel that had been flat.
Lessons learned:
Trust that God intends to have you learn and become a better follower of Him in all things that occur. It's how you choose to use and respond to those opportunities.
My car is a sensitive subject because I have dealt with so much concerning this particular car in the past few months. Unfortunately, I didn't initially respond to the test in the most Christian manner, but I do feel confident that I acted later according to what needed to be fixed in my life. Most of the time, I struggle mainly with issues that are out of my control. All in all, I need to constantly remind myself that God is the one in control anyways.
I get surprised probably more often than I should when God shows me that I should have trusted him all along! But, I know that I grow a little each time He demonstrates Himself in my life.
God blessed me not just monetarily (taking care of the unforeseen extra cost) but also in teaching me a lesson to relax and take heart in knowing that it will all work out in the end.
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Ok. So I don't eat out much. Nor would I have ever thought I would fall in love with anything from a "fast food" chain. However, I am in love with Chipotle's Chicken Fajita Burrito. It is super awesome. I have had it twice and I could have it again and again.
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