Day 2: Provisions

What better way to start out Day 2 of blogging than with the counting of blessings? Hehe. Okay, that would definitely take forever to do (and I'd still miss a bunch), so I'll highlight some key ones.

To start, yesterday was just spectacular for me. It was comfortably cool and sunny outside, and just about everything seemed to work the way it should. I felt calm and peaceful... even if I did get stopped by a train once, but I just shrugged my shoulders and sat happily in my car listening to music. It was great. God is great.

God has blessed me with so much: spectacular parents, wonderful grandparents (and other family members), terrific friends, awesome pets, a lovely home that's just right for me, food in the fridge, clothes in my closet, a car in the driveway, other extra little comforts here and there, and (probably the most important one) ME! God made me and put me right where He wanted me; He gave me all of the talents and quirks and likes (and dislikes :P) that I have. He challenges me to go the extra mile (or two, or twenty), and I am more than honored to do so. God has done incalculable things for me, the very least I can do is serve and follow Him.

I could talk forever about all of God's goodness (and I will continue to do so), but I want to get back to yesterday's goodness in particular. As I was riding in the car with my mother, I was enjoying the scenic little drive and I noticed how green and vivid the trees were. I thought about how God was shaping each and every tree to His exact specifications, just as He shapes each of us. Then my thoughts changed to people and how almost everyone has come to "need" so much unnecessary stuff, and worry about what they don't need to worry about... particularly provision. I saw two black crows standing in someone's driveway and thought, "They're not worried. They know that God takes care of them and provides them with food and the instinct to find it, as well as the knowledge and instinct to find shelter and build nests to live in."

Just like another of my favorite verses:

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
~Matthew 6:26 (KJV)

As a college student, my friends frequently spoke of loans and debt and the worry they felt about both. They would say, "I'm in debt up to my eyeballs," or "I'm never going to be able to pay this off." One friend was in such a predicament (thanks to the recent "recession" and tightening-up of banks) that he wasn't sure he could get a loan for the money he needed to finish his last semester of school; if he couldn't he would have to drop out, but if he did, he would have to start paying his already-accumulated loans, leaving him no money to save toward going back to finish his degree. Although I wasn't in his situation (Thank God), I really felt for him and, admittedly, was worried for him. But I quoted Matthew 6:26 to him, and it really helped. Every time this talk arises, regardless of who I'm speaking to, I send them this verse. It's sparked some interesting discussions (mostly just interpretation), but it always gives them that extra little push towards faith and trust in the Lord. And, for the record, God blessed my friend with that last loan to finish his final semester.

I was talking to another friend last night who has been relationship-challenged (i.e., single) for a while and he doesn't like it one bit. I talk about God to him quite a bit, especially to cheer him up about anything that's troubling him, but he's never said a whole lot in return. Last night, however, he surprised me a bit. Out of nowhere, he brings up relationships (which he's done before) and begins to explain his reasoning for not being in one. After a somewhat lengthy explanation, he finishes with, "I think that's why everyone I like has a boyfriend, its God's way of keeping me out of harms way." I told him that that was a spectacular way of putting it, and that it means that God has a wonderful girl just waiting for a guy just like him to come along. He admitted it wasn't the easiest thing to accept, but he knew it was the best.

When we are blessed with what we need, then it's part of God's plan. My friend was meant to finish school so that he could go on to make big things happen in his field of study. Sometimes, however, we confuse "needs" with "wants." When we don't get something, we question why we didn't get it or get upset or both. In cases like this, we need to step back and ask, "Okay, what are the pros of me NOT having this thing?" Pondering that and praying about it will usually lead you to some reason(s) why it wasn't a part of God's plan. It's most likely (if not always) because He has something (or someone) more wonderful than you can imagine picked out just for you. You just have to be patient.

So, for today, I pray that God continues to bless me, my family, my friends, and all of his children with exactly what He knows we need individually and collectively. May He bless those less fortunate, and keep us forever mindful of such people so that, for one, we appreciate what we do have a little more, and two, help those in need when we ourselves have the extra blessings to go around. Thank You, God, for this day and every day, for they are some of the best blessings because You made them all special. Thank You for who I am and who I will become through Your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.


Love and God Bless,
M.C.