Today was one of those days when I just wasn't myself. To put it plainly, I was a little down. I really don't know why I was feeling that way - it was just one of those days...
My wife called me to verify what time the kids rehearsal was and I told her that I would meet them at the church. The physical part of me was yelling, nooooooo just go home and rest! For whatever reason I ignored that voice and ended up making it home in time to ride with my family. I still had second thoughts because I am trying to do better (last 6 months) at taking some time out for me which I struggle with. So off we go...
Once at the church I begin to talk to this very nice couple. We talked about all sorts of things, health, jobs, God, kids, etc... During the conversation they mentioned that they were having a tough time financially as the husband had been laid off and was pursuing work. The amazing thing was, I could not tell they were under any kind of distress. Not only were they smiling and laughing, they stated that they were extremely happy and could see God's hand at work. The couple is sincere so I knew this was not a sly ploy to ask for money and this was verified when I pulled the husband to the side to ask if they needed something and he replied, "...no D, God is taking care of us..." He went on to tell me they had food in the fridge and all the bills were paid.
He didn't stop there, he proceeded to give me a testimony of when they got married, the entire family (including two children) was stranded (due to a series of events) in an airport with $9.00. He detailed how they prayed and God answered by sending three complete strangers on different occasions to give them over $100.00 to last sleeping in the airport overnight and being able to feed the kids. In all, they were in the airport for ~20 hours with no credit card, an ATM card which became demagnetized and a dead cell phone. He was sharing this story with me because he said he had seen first hand how God answers prayer and can get them/us through any situation. He finished by saying, if it really gets that bad he will reach out for help but right now, they were happy with making it.
When we finished, I felt my spirits lifted and thought, what if I had stayed at home. I would not have received this testimony/blessing. Sometimes our blessings/encouragement lies in us being active and not simply sitting in the misery of discouragement. Phillipians 4:4-7 (MSG) says,
"4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
6-7 Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."
Blessings,
-d
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